How the Other Half Lives
by Oujo ha Rippa
Summary: Giotto and Tsuna are twins that hate each other with a passion; what could go wrong? Many things. G27. AU. Rated M for Twincest, future smut and Giotto being a vampire.
1. Chapter 01: Hate

**EDIT 29/03/10: I felt the need to clean up the first chapter because of its poor quality as I wrote the first chapter when I wrote things carelessly and didn't put that much effort into them.**

**SilentSnowDreamer/Kuma this is still for you~ I love you =D**

**ANOTHER EDIT 03/08/11: You don't know how much this needs editing Asdfghjkl; I'm not updating this until I've re-edited every single fucking chapter.**

**Summary - **Giotto and Tsuna are twins that hate each other with a passion; what could go wrong? Many things. G27

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_Chapter 01: Hate_

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_There is no truth in hate -_Kathleen Norris

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Ever since they were younger they had hated each other with an undeniable passion.

It was unclear when and how this all exactly began, no one could exactly pinpoint when they began hating each other. To their parents, Nana and Iemitsu Sawada, it just seemed as if they had always behaved in this manner and just learned to deal with the fact that they had two twin sons that didn't like one another. Maybe they'd eventually grow out with it, who knew, but for then they just had to learn to raise them and deal with it.

From first glance, you'd never be able to tell they were related to one another. Other than their similar messy, unruly hairstyles they looked like two complete opposite ends of the spectrum. Like a yin and yang, you could see a little bit of one of them in the other but nothing more than that and they liked to keep it that way.

It wasn't out of choice the younger twin of the two hated his older brother, Giotto Sawada, but merely more out of force. He wasn't as outgoing or boisterous as his brother had been but more timid and held back. He never initiated the ongoing strife between them but instead helplessly tried to calm it between them only to have his efforts shoved back in his face. It was all useless, and eventually, Tsuna began to grow to hate his brother back.

Giotto, the eldest, was what one would perhaps consider to be a 'golden child'. He had the golden blonde hair of his father's to match and sky blue eyes with specks of gold hinted inside of them. His face – flawless; incredibly breathtaking whilst his skin was smooth and slightly tanned from when he used to travel to Italy with his father during his younger years. Those visits came to an abrupt end due to an accident that happened to occur one summer they went on holiday there however.

Giotto was academically better off than Tsuna too. He had inherited the brains and the beauty so it seemed. Seemingly good at anything and everything he tried, he had no problems with school other than the fact he had to attend it with his good for nothing brother. From the creative arts to outdoor sports such as walking great distances or hiking, he could achieve it all with little or no struggle.

On the other hand, Tsuna was the complete opposite. He had messy chestnut brown hair which he inherited from his mother that stuck up a little more unruly than Giotto's due to the fact he woke up late every morning and hardly had any time to tame his hair properly like his brother did. His eyes were dull, a chocolate brown colour, unlike his brother's captivating blue eyes with a golden hue to it. The most his eyes ever did was shine a very light shade of amber in bright sunlight.

Tsuna didn't do well in school either. He fell asleep during class a lot and failed most, if not all classes. He hated doing physical education since he got wheezy and out of breath easily and arrived late to all this classes most of the time. He was an easy target for school bullies and mockery from the other kids in his class too. It was hard to put up with yes but Tsuna managed it somehow.

He was an inch and a half smaller than his brother at least, even with his hair. His skin was lighter than Giotto's, but only slightly.

Putting it bluntly, Tsuna practically failed at life and on top of it all, was a complete and utter klutz. His friends consisted of his mother, Takashi Yamamoto and Kyoya Hibari. Even then, he couldn't really count his own mother as a friend since she was...well, his mother. And Yamamoto more of his brother's friend, he was just a kind-hearted guy who tried his best to be nice to Tsuna whereas Hibari was just more lenient with Tsuna's behaviour compared to other people's, so it was more like a mutual agreement sort of thing rather than being actual friends.

Although seemingly flawless, Giotto did have some minor flaws in his almost godlike qualities – he generally tended to sleep in late over the weekends and was occasionally slightly forgetful. He would also get up at weird times during the night and stay up until dawn before falling back asleep again. Just the odd thing here or there, nothing too drastic.

Believe it or not, Tsuna wasn't filled up with flaw after flaw after flaw either. Unlike his brother, he was sincerely kind and compassionate to everyone and everything he came across whereas with his brother, the majority of the time, if not all the time, it was more of an act. He tried his best, and that's all his parents could ask of him.

All in all, the twins disagreed and clashed in every way possible, which was undeniable.

However, there was one thing that they seemed to agree on.

And that was they hated each other.

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"Oi, get up," Tsuna heard Giotto's voice call as he rolled over in his bed.

It was a school day, and it was still currently dark outside. It was cold today too and Tsuna wanted nothing more than to snuggle under his blankets and keep himself protected from the deathly cold (and school) that awaited him if he dared get out of them. He nested himself deeper inside the blankets as he tried to block out the heavy sounds of Giotto's footsteps walking over to his side of the room, preparing himself for an upcoming fight of whether he would keep his blankets or not.

"I don't want to..." Tsuna mumbled from under his blankets, snuggling deeper under them as he felt himself slowly drifting back to sleep. It was a quiet mumble, but loud enough for Giotto to hear like he intended.

Rolling his eyes, Giotto slipped on his school shirt and quickly fastened up the buttons on them before making his way to his younger twin bed, violently yanking the blanket off of his brother and tossing it onto the floor, a light smirk appearing on his face as he heard Tsuna yelp out as the sudden cold air hit his body.

Curling up into a tight ball, Tsuna began to shiver, hugging his knees tightly and he frantically tried to insulate himself with his own body warmth.

"Well you have to, stupid idiot," Giotto snarled, turning away from Tsuna and heading over to the rest of his uniform, beginning to put his school trousers on.

Frowning, Tsuna curled up tighter, "I'm not an idiot..."

"Whatever," Giotto replied, zipping up his trousers and grabbing his belt.

Tsuna sat up and turned his head to somewhat glare at his twin brother from behind, shivering slightly still be adjusting to the cold air somewhat gradually.

"S-stop making fun of me and calling me idiot all the time! I-I'm not an idiot!" Tsuna proclaimed as he slowly got up from his bed and pulled his own pair of trousers out of his wardrobe angrily, fiddling the fabric between his hands whilst biting down on his lower lip.

It hurt, and stung, to be called an idiot by your own brother. Yes, Tsuna had heard it plenty of times before now but each time it still hurt. They were fifteen now and nearly sixteen, they should be passed this stage of mocking each other and poking fun, but Giotto made it seem like Tsuna was never going to escape it until Giotto left the house for college.

If only.

"Shut up, you sound like a stupid cry baby when you whinge like that," Giotto growled, beginning to buckle up his belt. Once it was done up, he placed his glasses on and turned around to properly glare at Tsuna now his vision was better.

Tsuna frowned. He so badly wanted to protest more against his brother but over the recent years he had learnt he was better off not doing so. He didn't sound like a cry baby – did he? All he was doing was trying to salvage what was left of the dignity his brother had carelessly destroyed for him over the years. It wasn't too much to ask for to go one day _without_ being teased or made fun of was it?

Maybe it was the real reason Giotto hated him though. Maybe he was a cry baby and whinged too much. This only all started happening after Giotto had come back from Italy for the last time, so maybe he had met other kids their age there and began to find Tsuna annoying and grew to dislike him.

Who knows.

"...c-could you stop staring at me?" Tsuna asked as he caught his brothers eye again, noticing he was scanning him from head to toe.

Tsuna, unlike Giotto, hated it when people stared at him. It was one of the things he dreaded about P.E. Giotto was lean and slightly muscular whereas he was scrawny, petite and had a frail body which looked more like a girls with a flat chest. Having people stare at him made him feel more self conscious and exposed than he normally did anyway, _especially_ when he was in nothing but boxers and in the process of putting trousers on.

"Why? I'm just seeing if a miracle happened overnight and you managed to develop from a girl into a boy yet," Giotto said expressionlessly as he picked up his school tie and began to tie it around his neck effortlessly.

Tsuna's cheeks turned slightly red out of embarrassment and anger. That was one of the worse insults Giotto used on Tsuna, the fact he used his slender body against him. It wasn't Tsuna's fault he wasn't built like Giotto was and Tsuna believed that was and should be one thing Giotto shouldn't ever use against him. He _knew_ he was a boy so there was no point in him calling him 'girly' or 'feminine' or bluntly right out saying that he _is_ a girl. It was uncalled for.

"I'm not a girl!" Tsuna yelled at Giotto, zipping up his trousers.

"Denial will get you nowhere in life," Giotto replied back simply, reaching for his school vest next.

"Stop m-making fun of me! I'm not a girl!" Tsuna yelled again, furiously grabbing his school shirt and glaring at Giotto, eager to cover himself up now quickly.

"No," Giotto said candidly, "And yes you are."

"Oka-san!" Tsuna called, walking towards the bedroom door a little, "Giotto is making fun of me again!"

"Giotto-kun! Play nicely with your brother~!" Nana practically sang happily.

"I am oka-san, Tsuna's just making things up," Giotto called back, smirking at Tsuna as he finished.

Tsuna gawked before smacking his forehead. It was hopeless. It really was.

"I wonder how everyone will react when they find out the cry baby still runs to her mommy every time her big bad older brother picks on her," Giotto said tauntingly, his smirk growing wider.

"T-then...then I'll tell everyone how you still wet the bed!" Tsuna retorted.

Silence.

The twins stared at each other for an incredibly long time, both waiting to see who would dare to speak next. Okay, Giotto did not wet the bed _frequently_ but there had been occasions during the past couple of months where he had done so once or twice. Giotto just tended to drink a lot of water due to his sporty activities to keep himself healthy and so he never really realized when his bladder got full so...

"If you _dare_ tell anyone that..." Giotto began lowly, a dark aura beginning to emit from him.

"I-I know," Tsuna said quickly, looking away from Giotto and slipping his shirt on, inwardly sighing, "You'll kill me and tell everyone who asks I moved t-to Italy to live with our aunt and uncle b-because I was getting bullied so no one attends my funeral."

Giotto's smirk turned into somewhat of a sarcastic grin, grabbing his blazer and pulling it on, beginning to head towards their bedroom door.

"My baby brother _does_ have a memory, miracles DO happen overnight~!" Giotto exclaimed overdramatically, chuckling lightly to himself as he approached the bedroom door.

He stopped right by it just as he was about to leave, "Oh wait, no he doesn't, since he seems to forget that if he doesn't hurry up he'll be late for school and vampire-san will bite him to death~!" Giotto said happily, laughing to himself a little.

"You wish..." Tsuna mumbled under his breath, a slight sound of hurt in his voice as he reached to grab his tie next.

"Oh I do wish," Giotto said seriously, turning his head to look at Tsuna, glaring at him intently, "My world would be absolutely perfect if you didn't exist, so the moment I have the chance to get rid of you, I will do so."

With that, Giotto left the bedroom and slammed the door behind him.

Sighing, Tsuna sat down on his bed, shoulders slumped and tie halfway done up.

"Hate you too brother..."

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**THIS IS SO MUCH BETTER HNNG I FEEL SLIGHTLY BETTER ABOUT THIS STORY NOW.**

**I'd ask you if you all think it's better but you can't review twice for a story so...yeah. When you _do_ review for chapter nine when I write it sooner rather than later, make sure you tell me how you feel about the edits.**

**Plus, the chapter is longer. LIKE YOU ALL WANTED. So you can all be happy now.**


	2. Chapter 02: Attacks

**OMG IT'S A MIRACLE I'M UPDATING. So yeah, I'm like…really sick at the moment, I've been vomiting and everything -sweat drops-.**

**EDIT 03/08/11: I don't even remember being sick and vomiting everywhere this just goes to show how long this has been going on for –incredibly sorry-. Everything will become miraculously longer and then you'll have a chapter. I'M PHYSICALLY ILL FROM THE HEAT RIGHT NOW I'M NOT RESTING UNTIL I'VE REPENTED.**

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_Chapter 02: Attacks_

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_Every murder turns on a bright hot light, and a lot of people have to step out of the shadows. _-Albert Maltz

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Tsuna had managed to arrive late to school once again for the umpteenth time. It was more of a casual everyday routine now, arriving late. The teachers were used to it, the front office was used to it and even he was beginning to get used to it. Luckily he had managed to swiftly evade Hibari, the school's head of the disciplinary committee, and quickly made his way into the school without questioning the matter. If he could get by _without_ being threatened by those tonfa's then that's all he could ask for.

Stumbling into the classroom, Tsuna heard snide giggles and snickers from the other students who shared his homeroom. Sighing mentally, Tsuna just hastily made his way to his seat near the back of the room and quickly sat down. It was completely obvious that they were laughing and giggling at him, they always did. Giotto probably told a bunch of people how he went tattling on him to their mother this morning like he suggested or something – or maybe his entire existence was just something to plainly laugh at now. Who knows.

He noticed Giotto talking with Yamamoto and his other friend Hayato Gokudera from across the classroom. Yamamoto was smiling and laughing at whatever Giotto had just said, as usual, whereas Gokudera just stood there, glaring at all who looked in their direction with his hands in his pocket and shoulders hunched up slightly. Always in a violent, conspicuous stance, ready to verbally offend anyone who dared threaten him back.

Glancing away from them, Tsuna turned to look outside. It was lightly raining and the sky was a dark grey, the sun having just barely risen a mere hour ago. The weather had been awful for the past few months, even if it _was_ coming up to mid autumn soon. Namimori usually had a rather sunny or overcast climate throughout the year with rain here and there and the occasional snow during winter but never rain that had been going on for this long, especially this early in autumn. It almost seemed unnatural in a way.

Some people believed they were linked to vicious attacks that had currently been on the news in the last few weeks. Speculation was out as to whether it was a serial killer or a group of thugs going around and killing dozens of people and leaving them for dead. There were no leads on who was doing this and it was causing those of Namimori to grow restless.

Especially for people such as Hibari, who was dedicated to keeping peace in Namimori. When he had found out about this his temper was immaculately enraged. Anyone who dared breathe in his presence became the victim of a violent beating out of his frustration and anger. Granted, many people felt the same way about this too. Namimori was a quiet, peaceful city and nothing bad ever happened there and if something did, it wasn't ever anything as bid as murder.

"As you are all aware," the teacher began as he entered the classroom, a binder under his arm and a sort of on edge look to him, "The numbers of attacks in Namimori have increased over the last two weeks dramatically, and over the weekend, the teachers and the principal got together and decided it would be best if, for the first hour of every school day, we spend that time talking about the matter at hand, to get things off people's chest they might have to say about these murders."

Slouching in his chair, Tsuna rested his head in his hand and placed his elbow on the desk, continuing to stare out of the window and watch the rain. Personally, he didn't like the idea of talking about the murders. He had heard various things on the news about limbs having been torn off by force from the victims' bodies and their faces and necks mangled beyond recognition. The thought of discussing something so violently gruesome made him feel sick.

The lucky few who had survived the attacks were said to have been crazy and bewildered by what had happened and when they tried to explain what was going on they would be violently sick or began to have a seizure. Some didn't even know what on earth happened to them. Either hours or at most a week later, they all eventually died, due to the same, incurable illness they had gotten infected with that they didn't have before the attacks. Doctor's were unable to explain it, they had no idea what it was killing these people and driving them insane. It was all just one entire mystery to everyone.

Now it wasn't just Namimori where the attacks were taking place, however it seemed to be the bulk of the crimes at the moment, countries such as China, America, Italy and Britain were experiencing similar attacks with identical outcomes, which led spectators to believe that the person doing this in Namimori either had connections or it was all coincidence. It was embarrassing for all these doctors, being some of the most advanced counties in the world, to have not found a cure for this yet or to have caught the person or people behind this but there wasn't much they could do about that, the only lead they had was the illness these people contracted after being attacked.

Tsuna didn't pay much mind to these attacks. Sure it was horrible hearing that people in your own city were being brutally murdered but he didn't feel at risk. The only time he was ever outside was when he walked to school and when he walked home and most of the attacks happened in the dead of night. He never went out on weekends and spent most of his day in doors, and thus felt no immediate threat towards himself.

You could call it ignorance, but at least it was a blissful ignorance.

_I wonder what oka-san will cook again tonight...I hope it's hamburgers again,_ Tsuna thought as his stomach growled lightly at the thought of food. He'd left home without breakfast once again so he was starving.

"Now police feel you have the right to know that the age range of the people being killed vary from as young as thirteen to as old as twenty one. A couple of people older and younger have been killed but the primary focus has been on teens and young adults – meaning _you_ are in danger," the teacher said, causing an outburst of gasps and murmurs to emit around the room.

The sun was beginning to peak a little through the clouds, not much but it was enough that Tsuna could see it. He smiled lightly as the sun briefly shone down on Namimori before being covered up again by the thick smog of grey clouds, his smile falling instantly after.

Reluctantly, Tsuna turned his focus back onto the front of the class. It was pointless just staring at the somewhat depressing state of weather as it was only going to dampen his already weary mood. Plus if he stared outside for too long, he risked being caught by the teacher and was then at even further risk of public humiliation from his peers and also detention. The last thing he wanted right now was detention, especially since the weather was supposed to grow rapidly worse as the day went on.

"And our best interest at heart is to keep you all well assured and safe," the teacher concluded, placing his binder down on the desk in front of him, "Are there any more questions on the matter before we have an open discussion?"

Several hands went up.

"Hm...ah yes, Giotto," the teacher said, gesturing his hand to point at Tsuna's twin.

Tsuna glanced over at Giotto who proceeded to lightly shift in his seat a little as he lazily lowered the hand he had held up. Tsuna noticed instantly that his fellow classmates were staring intently at his brother, as they usually did when Giotto had something he wanted to share with the rest of the classroom. Giotto was idolized, like a god, and everyone believed they were blessed to see the sun shine right out of his ass, that's just how things were. They didn't care if he was a total jackass about it either.

Rolling his eyes a little, Tsuna looked away from his brother and back at the front of the class. No, it wasn't jealously, don't misunderstand the situation. It was more annoyance than anything else.

"Well, what if we left these attackers alone. Perhaps then if they see they have no effect on what they're doing to our society, they might just get bored and give up," Giotto said, leaning forward and resting his chin on his clamped together hands, elbows resting on the desk as he arched one of his eyebrows. His blue eyes stared intently at the teacher, eager for a reply.

For a moment or two, the teacher stayed silent, thinking of a rebound argument. Yes, there were many counter arguments but they were counter arguments that people have tried and they have not worked. Giotto's theory was one that the police and government had not attempted at trying yet – leaving the attackers alone.

"Because of the lives at stake Giotto. By doing that we'd be risking more lives of others around the globe, not just in Namimori, which would increase in a rise of protests," the teacher explained slowly.

Giotto sat back and folded his arms. If there was one area Tsuna's brother excelled in more than anything else, it was law and politics. He could hold out a good argument and was a very persuasive person, as much as Tsuna hated to admit it. Charismatic and logical, it wasn't hard for Tsuna to see his brother winning this small debate.

"Then if our best interest is the people's safety and wellbeing, you'd have thought our government would've done something about it by now," Giotto retorted, "Don't you agree, sensei?"

"I'm only a teacher Giotto," the teacher replied, "I'm only told what the police and government tell our principal. I don't know what goes on in their minds."

"Then wouldn't it be best sensei, if you'll excuse my way of wording this, for the school to keep their noses out of other people's business and stop prying into what doesn't concern them?" Giotto asked, a hint of a smirk playing on his lips.

"It _is_ our business Giotto as you are the people in danger, we want you to be well informed," the teacher said, his eyebrows furrowing together.

"Then how about you get well informed yourself first?" Gokudera butted in before Giotto could speak, causing Giotto to just simply gesture towards his silver haired friend, indicating that he agreed with the point he raised.

"Hayato, Giotto, we are only told what the police want us to know," the teacher said smoothly, rubbing his temple lightly, "Be rest assured on that. Now, we've been given sheets for you all to fill out for you to fill out your thoughts, feelings and worries onto these pieces of paper as an activity exercise..."

Tsuna didn't have to look at Giotto to know that his brother was probably grinning wider than a Cheshire cat. It was one of the things Giotto loved more than anything, to win an argument or a debate.

Sighing, Tsuna turned back to look out of the window.

He found it amusing how the people who hated each other the most were the ones who noticed the most about one another.

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The weather forecast was either getting their times and dates mixed up or they were slowly becoming completely unreliable.

The heavy rain cascaded down heavily on the streets of Namimori. A loud occasional roar of thunder was heard as the rain splattered up off the ground as it hit it, the pavements and roads completely drenched in rain. The clouds had darkened to a more darker greyish colour and the sun was nowhere to be seen. People who had just finished work were holding newspapers or briefcases over their heads and lightly jogging or even running to the nearest bus shelter or shop as quickly as possible, some businessmen grabbing the first taxi that came into sight. Cars that were driving on the road had their headlights turned on and their windscreen wipers at full speed as they drove quickly, but steadily down the roads.

Tsuna sighed as he stood outside the front of the school, taking out the umbrella he had brought with him to school encase _this_ weather happened and opened it. He could hear the faint cries and screeches of girls running through the rain and puddles, all huddling under one umbrella as they tried desperately not to get soaked in the heavy downpour.

Tsuna hated walking home in this sort of weather, it made the journey home seem longer than the journey home when it was sunny or at the most overcast. As he stepped out to walk down the steps, he groaned a little as he felt the puddles of water beneath his feet. That was something that was his entirely his fault though. Unlike his brother who demanded a new pair of shoes almost every month, Tsuna was quite happy with the pair he had for nearly two years now – the only thing was that they were beginning to wear away at the soles now, not making them ideal to walk home in the rain in.

Grudgingly, he quickly walked forth down the path back to his house. He could feel his socks squeak and splatter against the wet bed of his shoes as he walked while his feet began soaking in the ice cold rain. He shuddered. When he got home, he was going to have a nice long shower or bath to warm up. This weather was just ridiculous.

To his surprise though, Tsuna ended up taking the route that was the long way back to his house. Maybe it was because he saw Giotto head in the short route direction with Yamamoto and Gokudera and he subconsciously decided to turn the other way and leave. He tended to do that when he wanted to avoid mindless arguing with his brother, since it meant they wouldn't get back home the same time as each other.

As he turned to walk down one of the alley ways to evade people traffic, Tsuna halted in his steps. He clutched the umbrella tighter as he nervously glanced his surroundings. Looking over his shoulder and even moving his umbrella to look above him, a wad of rain instantly hitting his face as he did so.

Squirming, Tsuna covered himself again with the umbrella and wiped his face with the sleeve of his school blazer, blinking a few times. Once letting his arm hang down by his side again, he felt himself shiver out of anticipation, not from being cold. A sinister feeling of being washed suddenly swamped the entirety of his nerves as he gently bit down on his lower lip, his heart rate beginning to beat and race faster.

With everyone second that ticked by, Tsuna felt his breathing steadily increase and the feeling of being watched grow stronger and stronger. Soon, the feeling developed from just a feeling to the point where Tsuna _knew_ he was being watched. That undeniable sensation was hard to dismiss. Someone was nearby, and he didn't know where.

Hesitantly, he inhaled deeply and took a step forward. Maybe it was just the dark, damp weather that was getting to him and all that prep talk this morning about the attacks happening. That's probably all it was. Besides, who would want to attack him, no-good Tsuna? He wasn't the type of person anyone would exactly miss if he was killed, so he doubted he'd be worth the attacker's time if they _were_ watching him...

"Woof!"

"HIIIE—!" Tsuna yelped as he let go of the umbrella, spinning around until he was looking behind him whilst panting hard. He clutched his chest, trying to calm his heart from beating so quickly and used his now other free hand to cup over his eyes to peer into the distance, trying to look for whatever made that noise.

As he walked forward a little, Tsuna noticed a small puppy stand a couple of feet in front of him, panting and wagging his tail, staring up at Tsuna.

Tsuna sighed in relief. Although he wasn't really a pet person himself, mainly because all animals that crossed his path ended up trying to kill him (well not literally, but at the time it always seemed that way) and thus he was wary of every animal.

He paused for a moment or two before walking over to the puppy and leaning down, picking him up and looking around the neck to check for a collar, but not finding any.

_He must be a stray..._Tsuna thought, looking down at the wet dog, trying to warm it up using his blazer, _I can't leave a stray dog out in the rain like this though...I'm sure oka-san will understand, just until the weather is better..._

Tsuna turned back around and cradled the puppy gently and carefully in his left arm as he used his right down to pick up his umbrella again, holding it over them both so they were out of the rain again.

Just as he went to walk again, Tsuna felt a hand move the umbrella out of the way and a piece of metal push against the back of his head.

Tsuna froze.

"Where is he?" a voice behind him asked angrily, the sound of a gun loaded echoing against Tsuna's skull.

Shaking, Tsuna's eyes widened, turning around quickly to face the perpetrator.

The man was a _lot_ taller than he was with short, dark brown hair that was spiked up in various places. His eyes were a blood like crimson colour that glared at Tsuna with an extreme, unexplainable hate while a large scar over his left eye masked half of his face. He had tanned skin, rather dark for that matter, and had spoke in a foreign accent that at first, Tsuna didn't pick up on until he took in the man's full appearance.

"W-what...?" Tsuna managed to choke out, taking a small step backwards.

The man pushed the gun to Tsuna's forehead this time, making sure to push it right against the skin.

"Trash, get lost before I blow your brains out," the man spat, his eyebrows furrowing together as he aggressively tore the gun away from Tsuna's head.

Tsuna didn't have to be told twice. He picked up his umbrella and ran out of the alley at lightning speed, nearly falling over himself a couple of times, not looking back at all.

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**EDIT 03/08/11: Why could I never write this good before the chapter made me weep. I wrote nearly double what this chapter used to be. DOUBLE. Writing skills where were you –crying right now-**


	3. Chapter 03: Saved

**Okay~ chapter 3, let's get straight into it! **

**EDIT 03/08/2011: WHY ARE ALL THESE CHAPTERS SHORT I AM SO SORRY I UNDERSTAND WHAT YOU ALL MEAN NOW BY MAKING THEM LONGER. I take back everything. Just everything. How on earth did I think these were acceptable I don't even—**

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_Chapter 03: Saved_

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_I saved someone from being attacked last night. I controlled myself._ -Rodney Dangerfield

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Tsuna didn't stop running until he arrived back at his house, literally slamming the door wide open and stumbling inside, tripping over his feet while making sure to not crush the puppy which he was still holding to his chest tightly. Did he dare tell anyone about what just happened? Was that man even the attacker? If he was, wouldn't he have been...attacked? As in, ripped to shreds and mauled beyond recognition?

Something wasn't right...that man...he didn't seem like the attacker, he _couldn't_ have been the attacker. There was something trustworthy about him, even if the intense glaring and hideous looking scars might make him think otherwise. If he was the attacker, he wouldn't have risked letting Tsuna go with the chance of him running off to the police station and telling them about that encounter.

Shaking his head, Tsuna slowly stood up and pushed his shoes off his feet, putting them back outside. He was in such a hurry to get inside he forgot to leave them outside on his front porch. He'd apologize to his mother later, but right now he needed to get this puppy warm and dry and calm down from what just happened and if he could – figure out who this guy could've been and more importantly who he was looking for.

"Oi, idiot, where have you been? It's dark outside," Giotto's voice asked as Tsuna began making his way upstairs.

Tsuna ignored him. He wasn't in the mood for being taunted or arguing. The last thing he wanted was to end shouting or worse crying in front of his brother right now. He wasn't entirely sure how his mood would swing right now, he was still in the early processes of calming down.

Tsuna felt his brother grab his arm and yank him around to face him, causing Tsuna to almost drop the puppy as Giotto did so.

"Don't ignore me, I'm talking to you," Giotto said warningly, glaring hard at Tsuna.

Tsuna lightly yanked his arm away and looked away from Giotto, "W-well I don't want to talk to you..."

For a long moment, Tsuna felt Giotto's eyes stare at him long and hard before he made a small 'tch' noise. Tsuna mentally sighed, great, his brother was pissed off now by his response and he was in for it. _Just_ what he wanted after having a gun pointed to his forehead. A gun which was _loaded_ that is. He didn't want to deal with this right now, this was the _last_ thing he want to have to deal with.

"...whatever," Giotto said, folding his arms, "Oka-san just told me to come and tell your our cousin is coming down from Italy to visit. He'll be staying with us for a while."

...they had a cousin?

Tsuna blinked. He wasn't aware they had anymore relatives in Italy. He knew they had an aunt and uncle and their grandparents on their father's side lived in Italy but he never knew he had cousins too.

"...we have a cousin?" Tsuna asked, staring at Giotto questioningly.

Giotto rolled his eyes, "Are you deaf or something? I _just_ said we did."

Tsuna flushed in embarrassment. For once he'd accidentally made a fool of himself without his brother's help. But then again, when they were younger Giotto would lie to him about how he was adopted because he real parents didn't want Tsuna because he was an idiot and then Tsuna would run crying to his mother because he didn't want to be adopted. Giotto was always scalded when he taunted Tsuna with that, since it wasn't true and Giotto shouldn't go around making his brother cry like that.

"R-right," Tsuna replied awkwardly, shifting a little as he lifted the puppy up a little higher. This was another situation the twins seemed to land themselves in quite a lot. If they didn't break out into a giant argument, they'd find themselves standing around in awkward silence, waiting for the other to say something that would either end the conversation or actually lead to an argument.

Giotto broke the silence between them both once he glanced down at Tsuna's arms, spotting the small puppy tucked in-between his left arm and upper stomach.

An audible gulp was heard and Tsuna jumped at the sound, looking back over at Giotto whose eyes were glued to the puppy in his arms. His eyes were filled with a mix of fear and anger as his face tensed up noticeably. The skin on his forehead crinkled as his eyebrows furrowed together, staring intently at the dog.

"...you brought...a dog home?" Giotto said in a very quiet, dangerous sounding tone, his eyes instantly looking back up at Tsuna's. Tsuna felt himself tense a little under his brothers daunting gaze, holding the puppy tighter.

The puppy barked suddenly and jumped out of Tsuna's arms, landing with a small tumble on the stairs before running off into the house, leaving Tsuna and Giotto by themselves on the stairway.

Like Tsuna, Giotto had little fondness for animals, but it wasn't because every animal tried to attack him like they did with Tsuna – Giotto just simply did not like animals apart from feline creatures such as cats and things from the cat family. He wasn't a fan of other things such as fish, monkeys, rabbits...

_Dogs_.

"I—...y-yes," Tsuna stammered; he'd completely forgotten about his brother's hatred towards dogs. It was a spur of the moment decision to bring the dog home. He wasn't thinking about his brother when there was a poor, helpless creature stuck out in the rain that could've gotten sick and died! It's not like Tsuna did it on purpose to piss Giotto off...

Suddenly, Giotto grabbed the collar of Tsuna's school shirt and slammed him into the wall Tsuna was standing in front. The blonde walked up a couple of steps so he was level, if not slightly taller than Tsuna as he held him roughly against the wall. Tsuna looked away, his body fully tensing. He didn't need to look at his brother to see the anger in his face. He could virtually feel his brother emit the anger of his persona, and it was a terrifying thing to experience.

Gritting his teeth, Giotto leaned in so their faced were close to one another's, not caring if Tsuna looked at him or not.

"Why!" Giotto spat angrily. Tsuna could feel the hot breath from his brother's mouth against his cheek as he spoke. Giotto was alarmingly close. Tsuna felt his legs begin to wobble as he shook in Giotto's grip. He was in for it now. Giotto was probably going to, for once in his life, actually beat him up and kill him like he's always wanted. He has his excuse, it was just a matter of time now.

"I-I'm sorry—!" Tsuna began to say.

"_Shut up_! You're _not_ sorry!" Giotto yelled, pulling Tsuna away from the wall before slamming him into it again, his grip on Tsuna's collar tightening as he began shaking himself, "You have _no_ idea..."

Turning his head back to look at his brother, Tsuna was surprised to see Giotto hanging his head, his face flushed red and hands shaking in their grip. Was he allergic to dogs? Is that why he was so angry? Was this an allergic reaction he was having right now and this would be all his fault if he suddenly dropped dead onto the floor all because he wanted to rescue a stray puppy? Maybe he _should_ have thought of Giotto...if he was allergic it was pretty selfish of him not to...

"Giotto—"

"Shut up."

Giotto looked back up at Tsuna, his eyes a brilliant shade of deep gold. Tsuna desperately wanted to look away right now – he didn't care if his brother's eyes were doing some weird crazy shit he wanted out of this situation before it got worse.

"Just...stop talking," Giotto breathed out, his hard gaze giving Tsuna nothing for Tsuna to go off on. The golden colour to Giotto's eyes was unfamiliar, it wasn't the deep sky blue he was used to seeing and reading, this was different. He couldn't tell how Giotto was feeling or even a little bit of what Giotto was about to do to him so he could prepare himself. If anything this situation just became all the more terrifying for Tsuna. For once, he didn't _know_ his own twin.

Backing right up against the wall, Tsuna pushed his head as far back against it as he could while Giotto slowly began to bring his face closer to Tsuna's, his gaze never leaving the others, never letting him break it. Fearing whatever Giotto may do next, Tsuna just closed his eyes and wished for whatever he was going to do to be quick and painless, his breathing beginning to quicken in to short, rapid pants.

Instead, a few moments later as he felt his brother's lips brush his throat gently, he heard his brother cry out in pain, letting go of Tsuna and letting him stumble down the stairs a little.

"O-ow—!" Tsuna cried out, placing his arms behind him to stop himself from falling down further before glancing back up to look at his brother, curious as to why he suddenly let go of him.

To Tsuna's shock and surprise, the puppy had bitten Giotto's leg and was now gnawing on it, not too hard of course but the sudden shock and teeth digging into Giotto's skin must've been enough to cause him to cry out and let go of Tsuna in surprise.

Angrily, Giotto shook the puppy off his leg and reached down to grip it, wincing and groaning in pain. The puppy on the other hand just simply barked at Giotto before sprinting down the stairs and right out through the front door, which was still left wide open.

Eyes widening, Tsuna pushed himself up from the stairs and ran after the puppy, ignoring his brother who was yelling his name as he ran out of the door. He still had his socks on and it was still raining hard, so Tsuna would probably end up having to put the clean clothes he only wore just today in the wash already once he got back in, but he couldn't just let the puppy stay outside all by itself knowing it was out here.

Tsuna bit his lower lip, he'd have to remember to shut the front door next time, whether he was in a rush home or not.

After frantically searching through a various number of streets, Tsuna turned a corner and bent over, resting his hands on his knees and panting hard. He could feel himself getting sick, it was getting harder to breathe from the heavy rain too and he was completely drenched. Where on earth did the dog run off to? He couldn't have gone far, but yet here he was, having searched as much as he can and he still hadn't found him.

"Well, well, well...we have _another_ lost teenager?" Tsuna heard a raspy voice from a little ways in front of him speak.

Confused, Tsuna slowly stood up properly again, feeling groggy, peering into the distance beyond the smog of the rain to see who exactly was there. It didn't sound like that other guy from earlier definitely, the voice was higher pitched, but still male definitely.

"He's different from the others," Tsuna heard another voice say from behind him, hearing footsteps slowly walk towards him, "And he looks _exactly_ like _him_."

Stiffening, Tsuna quickly turned so he could see both sides of the street the voices were coming from, glancing from one end to the other frantically, watching as too shadowy figures drew closer to him through the rain. It was hard to make out who they were and what they looked like, but something told Tsuna they were trouble and he needed to get out of there _fast_. Call it paranoia if you will, but Tsuna couldn't shake the fear out of him.

"W-who's there?" Tsuna barely managed to whisper. He had meant for it to sound more firm, more demanding, but his throat was feeling dry and hot from all the running and he was still out of breath. Not to mention, terrified to top it all off.

"Did you hear that? He can hear us."

"And he can see us; my oh my he's a special one."

"What should we do with him?"

"I don't know...but we haven't had a juicy snack in _days_ if you catch my drift..."

"And never one so enticing before either~"

Tsuna felt like he was going to throw up. His breathing stopped for a second almost as he backed right up into the wall, digging his nails furiously against the hard brick wall as he continued to look back and forth against the ever closer shadows. He felt his head beginning to spin from shaking it back and forth at such a fast and hard speed, which did nothing for the sickly feeling in his stomach either.

Were these people the real attackers? Were these the people that guy from earlier was actually looking for? Was he really actually about to die right now or was life just testing him to see how far it could push him before he gave in and just told them to kill him. Today was just too much to take in, far too overwhelming.

Tsuna just closed his eyes, at least, if they were going to attack him, he didn't have to see what they were going to do to him.

Moments later, Tsuna felt something move in front of him.

Yelping out slightly, in fear that it would be one of the two men, Tsuna peaked out of one of his eyes only to see a different person standing in front of him, back to him and looking at the two people who were now in front of this person.

Opening his eyes fully, Tsuna looked closer at the figure in front of him. His skin was a lot lighter than his own, but with a small hue of colour to it. As for the two people in front of Tsuna, by the way they were dressed, he could make out one was male and the other female, both a considerable amount taller than he was with hooded cloaks covering their faces, hiding their identities.

"Partire!**"** the person standing in front of Tsuna yelled at the two hooded figures. The power and demand in the voice of this person made Tsuna shudder a little, "Egli è il mio obiettivo."

Tsuna stepped to the side lightly to peak out from behind his...well, saviour, to get a better look at his attackers. From the tension in their mouths, Tsuna could tell that they obviously weren't pleased with whatever this guy had just said to them, and that he had stopped them from attacking Tsuna for that matter. They began muttering between themselves in the same language, which by the accents Tsuna recognized quickly as Italian.

Were these people from Italy then?

"Non mi faccia dire ancora una volta! O io ti ucciderò!" the person before Tsuna yelled again, causing the two attackers to take a giant step backwards before...hissing at him?

_W-what...? Are they furries...?_ Tsuna thought to himself worriedly.

The two attackers quickly left into the darkness and into the rain, leaving Tsuna with just his saviour now. The rain began to bolt down harder and a clap of thunder was heard roaring in the far distance, but nothing too exhilarating.

Tsuna audibly sighed in relief, bowing his head. Saved...he was saved...he got to live.

"Hn?" the person in front of Tsuna said after hearing Tsuna sigh, turning around to face Tsuna properly as he did so, "Ah, are you alright?"

Tsuna looked up at his saviour, still panting a little as he did so. His Italian accent was stick heavy and thick as he spoke to Tsuna in Japanese, but otherwise Tsuna could understand him perfectly. He nodded, standing up straight and rubbing his wet arms before proceeding to shiver. It was freezing. All the warmth he had gained from running was slowly beginning to fade away.

"I-I'm fine...I think," Tsuna said, having paused mid sentence, "Thanks...I'd have probably been dead..."

The person nodded. From his posture and his voice, Tsuna managed to suss out his saviour was a guy, but due to the fact he, like those other attackers, had a hood covering most of his face, he couldn't make out who he was or what he looked like.

"You should head home," the guy said, "Or they'll come back."

"I—...alright," Tsuna said. He didn't feel like arguing back right now that he couldn't just let this guy wander around with those people around. They could come back for him as well.

"What's your name?" Tsuna pressed on however. That was the least he could do, thank this guy properly using his name instead of spluttering out useless thank you's over and over.

"Look," the guy started, gripping Tsuna's shoulders, "I didn't mean to save you back there, it wasn't my intention, but I did. I don't like it when my efforts go to waste. Now head home, before _I_ become your attacker."

"B-but I—!" the guy moved one finger to the others lips and pressing it against them, silencing Tsuna before he could say anymore.

"You talk too much," he stated simply before pulling away from Tsuna completely, heading in the opposite direction that the attackers went in.

First, he had a gun pointed to his head within just the skin and his skull stopping his brains from becoming like slushy, then his brother snapped completely at him for once for bringing a _dog_ home (in which that dog probably saved him from being brutally beaten up) and then he nearly became the next victim of those attackers. They _had_ to be the attackers.

Maybe it was a good thing that puppy ran off, because ever since Tsuna practically touched that puppy, bad stuff had started to happen.

On the bright side however, he was still alive.

Shaking his head, Tsuna hugged himself as he slowly began the journey back to his house in the rain, attempting to try and think all this through before he had to deal with his brother again.

* * *

**Partire** - "Leave!"

**Egli è il mio obiettivo **-"He is my target!"

**Non mi faccia dire ancora una volta! O io ti ucciderò**! - "Do not make me say it once again! Or I will kill you."

**EDIT 03/08/2011: Exactly 1,200 words more. I feel so accomplished. I'm having so much fun. My back's hurting like a bitch though. I'M NEARLY HALFWAY DONE THEN YOU CAN HAVE A NEW CHAPTER.**


	4. Chapter 04: Cousin

**EDIT 03/08/11: I think I started learning better by this chapter. It had an actual paragraph in it and was six pages long so I'm not angsting as much right now. Probably will by the end of it thought. MUST DOUBLE EVERY SINGLE CHAPTER, MUST MAKE THIS 12 PAGES.**

**Also I made the time span longer just for it to seem more time realistic. What was I thinking three days derp. **

* * *

_Chapter 04: Cousin_

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_I against my brother, I and my brother against our cousin._ -Bedouin Proverb

* * *

It didn't stop raining.

The heavy downpour of rain continued on for the last couple of weeks. The weather reports had gotten it all wrong – the weather was gradually becoming worse, not better. Puddles filled ever curved and bent surface they could and some of the lushes green field's kids would sometimes go visiting during the autumn was slowly becoming choked with water until it was like a gigantic, muddy swimming pool.

There had been reports on the news from all over Japan of complete blackouts in some of the cities just outside Tokyo. Power stations had been shut down due to fear of fatal electric shocks happening to people where the rain was hitting the most and Namimori was on the brink of joining those cities. The numbers in attacks increased dramatically as well, especially in Namimori. Attacks had gone from as little as one or two over night to a good seven or eight, sometimes as much as nine in a whole day. Everyone was living on edge, no one and nowhere was safe since reports had been coming in of people being attacked in their own homes.

Most roads around Namimori were being closed off by traffic wardens or police. Traffic wardens because the rain was making the roads dangerously slippery to drive on and the rain was beginning to get to a point where at night it was impossible to see through even with your headlights on. As for the police officers, many attacks had been occurring on the roads and dead bodies were found laying in them, thus causing them to have to shut off those roads in order to investigate the crime scenes further.

Curfews had been enforced by the government too to ensure the safety of all youngsters, especially those in the crucial age range between thirteen and twenty-one. Since the nights were getting darker earlier, no one was allowed out after seven at night without being accompanied by at least one or two other people. When it came around to ten o'clock at night, no one was to be on the streets at all.

Most schools in the surrounding area of Namimori had been shut down due to lack of staff, stress of losing fellow classmates or plainly just because of the weather in its current state. Namimori High was one of the few schools that was allowed by the government to stay open as Hibari had threatened the principal within the inch of his life if he even thought about cancelling school because of the rain. The principal tried to calmly explain to Hibari it was because of the attacks as well but he'd hear none of it. Thus, the school was kept open due to the student's dismay.

This had happened, as said, within a few weeks. Precisely, that would be about two weeks and six days.

Fortunately for Tsuna and Giotto, they actually had something to look forward to today. Their mysterious cousin from Italy would be coming over to visit them and would be landing in an airport a few towns over from Namimori where the weather wasn't as extreme as it was here. It gave them something both to look forward to over the last two long weeks, unlike most children, and thus kept their spirits high (well, Tsuna's more so than Giotto's) whilst everyone at school was hitting a low.

They weren't exactly sure how their cousin was going to be staying for, but by the sounds of how their parents went on about it, he'd probably be staying with them for a long while. If that was really the case, then Tsuna just prayed he was nothing like his idiot of a brother.

Today was also the day that Tsuna had been nearly attacked by the attackers three weeks ago now. Sure you could call him crazy for not handing in that piece of information to the police officers that he was about to be attacked until someone saved him before heading off into the dead of night – but was information did he have to give? That they were Italian and wore hooded robes? It'd probably sound like he was describing an Italian cult or something.

...maybe that's what they were.

Besides, even if they were foreign the attackers spoke clearly in a Japanese accent and they spoke the language fluently. Plus, they masked their identity. They could be anyone. His piece of information would lead the police absolutely nowhere. They didn't touch him either or his clothes, there would be no DNA evidence, the only thing useful would be that one was a boy and the other was a girl.

Well, they _were_ a bit tall too. They looked to be at least shy of six foot. Maybe that was something they could probably go off if they decided they wanted to follow up Tsuna's little bit of evidence – if Tsuna ever decided to give it.

Sighing, Tsuna ran over to the nearest bus shelter once he spotted it and stood underneath it, shaking from head to toe for being so cold and wet for the rain. Tsuna wasn't going to lie, this was the best the weather had been in the last three weeks. The rain wasn't too heavy but it was more than just a light drizzle and the thunder was still quietly heard rumbling in the background, but the sound of it wasn't entirely overpowering.

He'd forgotten to bring his umbrella with him today. On purpose of course not by accident – he already woke up incredibly late and had been doing so for the last three weeks now. His brother barely met his eye and ignored Tsuna whenever it was possible. Of course, Tsuna wasn't complaining about that, but his brother was his means of getting up at a decent time and now that his brother refused to talk to him, he was arriving to school ridiculously late.

"At this rate, I'm going to end up going to school soaking wet and I'll get another cold..." Tsuna said quietly to himself as he sat down on the small bench area in the bus stop. He dropped his bag onto the floor and huddled himself up and began to rub his arms so he could get warm again.

"Lovely weather isn't it?"

Tsuna's head instantly snapped into the direction the voice came from, having jumped slightly from where he was sitting when having heard it.

Leaning against the bus shelters window stood the same boy who Tsuna had encountered that night three weeks ago. Still dressed in the same knee length black cloak as before. Now that Tsuna was able to see properly since it was daytime and it wasn't raining as heavily, Tsuna noticed how this guy's cloak went up in a sort of v-shape before reaching a peak at his hips and then flowing back down to the back of his knees in the same v-shape. The boy folded his arms, revealing that underneath his cloak was a pristine white shirt which was tucked into a pair of dark blue jeans. His hood was still propped up and hiding the majority of his face but his mouth.

Tsuna paused for a moment before he felt his eyes widening a little, shifting in his spot on the bus stop bench.

"Y-you! You're from before..." Tsuna exclaimed, his voice growing gradually quieter as the figure leaning against the bus stop window slowly turned his head to look over at Tsuna. Although his eyes were covered, Tsuna could feel a very intense stare coming from the other. It was unnerving almost, having him stare at him that intently.

"That was me, yes," he replied, the corners of his lips twitching slightly.

Tsuna's mouth fell slightly agape. During the first week of his attack, Tsuna had been frantically trying to figure out who this person could be and how he would be able to find him again. He was off school sick during most of that week since he was outside in the cold for quite a while, but it didn't stop him from thinking about the matter. However, now he was actually given the chance to find out who this person was, it almost seemed impossible for him to actually ask.

"You shouldn't be out here," the boy started, moving from outside of the rain and into the bus shelter slowly, "You of all people should know that."

"I-I woke up late," Tsuna replied, turning his head away from the other, "I'm going to school."

"Aren't you a little late?" the boy chuckled, leaning against the open frame of the bus shelter as he folded his arms.

Tsuna nodded, his head still turned away from the other but his eyes glancing back over at the boy to get a proper look at him, "Yeah...I'm always late usually, just never this late..."

"I know," the other replied, "I've been watching you for a while now."

Tsuna stiffened. This guy had been _watching_ him? Well sure maybe he was just trying to look out for Tsuna just encase he got attacked again but that was really no excuse to really be following someone around and watching them right?

He shifted a little, his eyes averting away from the other's as he tried to think frantically of what to say. What exactly could you say back to that? All Tsuna could think of right now was a billion different questions about what that guy had just said. He began to feel queasy at the thought of his saviour being a stalker. It unnerved him, put him on edge. This wasn't something you wanted to hear from someone who saved your life.

"I-I see..." Tsuna said shakily, his throat somewhat dry.

"You're nervous," the boy pointed out, standing up properly, "Is it because I told you I was watching you?"

"W-what! No!" Tsuna protested quickly standing up and shaking his head. How awkward.

"Liar," he replied, taking a step closer towards Tsuna.

"I—" Tsuna said, backing up until the back of his knees hit the bench behind him, trying to think of something else to say.

"You?" he replied again, taking another step closer to Tsuna.

"I-I...w-what's your name!" Tsuna stammered, causing the boy in front of him to stop dead in his tracks.

Tsuna could feel the eyes behind the boy's hood looking him up and down. How he could see through it was beyond Tsuna but he could feel the intensity of the gaze. At least it stopped him from moving closer though and creating a more awkward situation than need be.

"I can't tell you that," he finally said, a small, playful smile growing on his lips, "That's against the rules. But you're welcome to call me 'master'."

"E-eh!" Tsuna squeaked, taken completely aback by that.

"I was kidding," the other laughed, his smile turning into a wide grin, "But you can call me 'Ie'."

"Ie...?" Tsuna repeated.

"Yes, Ie," 'Ie' replied, chuckling slightly still, "I wouldn't want you or anyone going around calling me master. That'd be disturbing for myself, the person involved and anyone who got the chance to hear them call me master."

Tsuna just gawked at the other – he wasn't entirely sure how he should respond. Ie was completely different compared to the night when they talked briefly. Was Ie perhaps actually a girl and not a guy? Guys didn't have mood fluctuations like that. Or maybe because they were in a relaxed environment instead of in that tense one Ie felt like he could be more friendly?

Sighing, Ie's grin slowly faltered as walked forward a little more out of the rain completely, "It seems as if you can't tell that I was joking. Seems that you and your brother have more in common than I first thought."

Blinking, Tsuna wrinkled his eyebrows together and gave Ie a puzzled look. His brother? Had Giotto met this guy before then? Maybe he might know who he was – but then again, Giotto _was_ ignoring Tsuna. Well, he'd not been ignoring him as much as he had been two weeks prior to this one, but their 'conversations' were still limited. Tsuna doubted he'd get any information out of Giotto.

"You know Giotto?" Tsuna asked.

Ie nodded, "Mhmm."

"How?" Tsuna asked again.

"Well," Ie grinned, taking one last step forward so that his body was brushing Tsuna's lightly, "It's a secret."

"I won't mention it to him!" Tsuna said quickly, "I'm just curious..."

"...alright," Ie said, leaning down a little so his lips came into contact with Tsuna's ear, brushing over the skin softly, "Ma si dovrà lasciate che vi baci voi."

"...o-okay?" Tsuna said slowly.

"We met a long while ago," Ie said, moving away from Tsuna's ear so he was just standing in front of him, "In Italy, I never saw him again since we met each other."

"Oh," Tsuna said, "G-Giotto doesn't like going to Italy anymore..."

Grinning slightly, Ie folded his arms again.

"Is that so..." he mused, more so to himself than directly addressing Tsuna, "Well, I told you how I met your brother, so you'll have to uphold your end of the deal."

"W-what is it exactly you want...?" Tsuna asked, beginning to get that uneasy feeling again.

"Not what I want Tsuna, but rather what I'm going to do," Ie replied, gripping Tsuna's right upper arm with his left hand and then moving his own left hand to the smaller boy's waist.

Tsuna let out a small yelp as Ie yanked him forward a little bit roughly before letting out a small gasp in surprise as he felt a pair of ice cold wet lips meet his dry warm ones. His eyes widened as he began to squirm in the others grasp, crying out and attempting to tell Ie to get off during mid kiss. Tsuna couldn't deny it though, Ie's lips were soft, inviting, but for crying out loud Ie was a _guy_ and he was a _guy_! He barely even knew him either!

Managed to break out of the others tight hold, Tsuna yanked his arm away and broke the kiss whilst pushing Ie away with all his might. He wiped his mouth with the back of his school blazer frantically, rubbing his lips until they were probably raw to get the saliva off of them.

"W-what on...w-why did you do that!" Tsuna cried, still half covering his mouth with his blazer sleeve as he stared at Ie with a horrified expression.

"Because you agreed to it," Ie replied simply, a smirk appearing on his face.

"I didn't understand what you said! I—!" Tsuna began shouting, only to be silenced as that all too familiar finger pushed itself against his lips, silencing him completely. Tsuna shuddered. Unlike before, Ie's finger was ice cold and dripping with water that began to smudge onto Tsuna's lips the longer Ie kept his finger against them.

After a moment or two, Tsuna smacked the others arm away and grabbed his bag off of the floor and ran out of the bus stop. He didn't hear Ie call after him but he could feel him watching after him. Even as he turned the corner towards his school, Tsuna could still feel that horrible, intense, unknown gaze piercing the back of his head. He felt completely violated and upset – _never_ had he kissed someone before and now his first kiss had been carelessly taken by a eerie stalker.

It was rather cliché though, Tsuna had to at least admit that. He was the no-good kid at school who led a normal, boring life and then one day, BAM. He had a gun pointed to his head, two people try to kill him, saved by what would've been his own personal hero but turned out to be, three weeks later, the stalker from hell who stole his first kiss.

As he reached the school gates, Tsuna slowed down. Here he was, finally at school, completely soaked from head to toe and lacking the innocence of a first kiss. He had no umbrella and was probably going to get a detention for being late. Especially this late at ten thirty seven in the morning – he already missed the first two lessons and the break before third lesson and now it was a couple minutes into that lesson.

On the bright side, he didn't have to sit through his homeroom teacher spending the first hour of their day today talking about the attacks and murders going on like he had been for the last three weeks.

Tsuna, whilst panting slightly from all that running, let out a small sigh as he walked up to the doors of his school, trying to dry his face with his wet blazer. Why Hibari would want to keep this school opened during this crisis in Namimori and during this sort of ongoing bad weather, Tsuna would never know.

Quickly getting a late slip and the person at the front office to sign it for him, Tsuna began slowly making his way to third period. As he walked past the lockers and the windows, Tsuna still couldn't shake the feeling of being watched off of him. Every now and then he'd glance outside to see if Ie was out there, but there was nothing but rain and the very odd car driving past as this was one of the roads still open.

Perhaps he was just being paranoid, after all, he just had a shaky start to his day. He'd probably forget about feeling this way after a lesson or two, especially during P.E. later on since the girls were using the hall today and the weather was too bad to do anything outside, so that meant he could get nearly an hours sleep during that lesson.

Tsuna groggily pulled the door aside as he arrived at his classroom and quickly made his way to his seat at the back of the class after handing his teacher his late slip.

In all honesty, Tsuna never thought he'd regret having his life saved.

* * *

_Elsewhere_

A faint smirk spread across his deathly pale face as his amber eyes watched Tsuna longingly from where he was currently at. You could call it obsession, you could call him a stalker, but this was more than just that. This was an overwhelming desire of need and pure hunger. No matter how hard the little brunette looked, he'd never see him. But he'd always be watching him. Yes, always.

The window was blurred to his dismay. The loud tapping on the window made it hard for him to focus solely on Tsuna Sawada who was sitting at the desk right next to it. Oh how he longed to touch, _taste_ the helpless, bewildered looking teen and to carve his name into his skin. To _own _him entirely.

He was so close, yet so far from his grasp. No one could understand how badly he pined for the boy, no one else ever could. If he could break through those windows now and devour him there and then, he would most certainly be happy. Alas, he could not.

Untainted, innocent, that's what Tsuna Sawada was. Like an angel, a pure, beautiful angel that he so badly wanted to damage. One he wanted to smother in blood and corruption, the feelings were just too intense he needed him and he needed him _now_. Patience was no virtue he knew, because he was anything but that. He was a sinner. A taker. And he would take what was rightfully his. Just his.

_Only_ his.

"Mine..." he whispered to himself as he dug his fingernails into the bark of the tree branch he was sitting on. He unconsciously licked his lips as he continued to stare at the boy. A various amount of different things ran through his mind, all the different things he could do to Tsuna, and from that his already faint smirk turned into a wider one. A small chuckle escaped from his parted lips which grew slowly into a loud psychotic sounding laughter. His voice echoed throughout the leaves of the tree he was in while a loud roar of thunder growled angrily in the distance.

"You're mine," he whispered darkly once his laughter stopped, the smirk fading from his face as he stared at Tsuna with a blank, serious expression, "And anyone who tries to touch you...I'll kill them."

He glanced over at the blonde twin sitting a few desks way and two in front of where Tsuna's row was, his gaze hardening on the back of Giotto's head.

"Because killing the un-killable has never been so easy."

* * *

The walk home was uneventful, and Tsuna wouldn't have had it any other way.

He had been given detention by his homeroom teacher for the following Monday after school and had been given extra homework to do by tomorrow or he'd be kept in during lunchtime until he finished them. It irritated Tsuna, since he would've arrived in during second lesson at the least if he didn't bump into Ie. Just thinking about that guy made Tsuna feel _very_ angry.

As for the lessons that followed up for the rest of the day – since he arrived to English late he was forced into reading a piece of English literature out loud to the class and ended up having to stop halfway through since he could barely understand anything he was reading. His pronunciation was wrong and he couldn't say any of the words without stuttering or pausing for a long time to try and work out the word.

This caused that the rest of his classmates to rudely snicker and laugh at him as he sat back down in his seat, flustered and embarrassed. Sometimes, Tsuna thought the teachers did this to him on purpose.

In P.E., it turned out that the girls were doing practical work for P.E. so the boys got to use the gym equipment. Tsuna was assigned to a running machine for the duration of the hour and it was probably the worst hour of his life. He could barely breathe after ten minutes of running and nearly passed out a few minutes later. It was humiliating to have the boy's tease him for this and then compare him to Giotto who was still running the treadmill with ease, but Tsuna was not prepared to risk his health just to gain unsung respect.

The last lesson of his day was spent in the nurses office, due to the fact his P.E. teacher forced him back onto the machine and Tsuna ended up collapsing off of it and badly hurting his shin ad forehead. At least he was able to salvage some sort of peace and quiet instead of having to endure another hour of classes.

He had managed to catch up to Giotto after school and grudgingly asked if he could share an umbrella with him or if he brought a spare. Giotto just simply told Tsuna he didn't want to be seen sharing an umbrella with him and walked off to meet up with Gokudera and Yamamoto before walking off home. He hated how blunt his brother was sometimes.

"So you're no-good Tsuna?" Tsuna heard a voice ask as he shut his front door after taking off his shoes. His head shot up to look to see where the voice had come from.

Before him stood a rather young looking boy, no older than eleven or twelve. He had black hair with two pieces of hair on either side of his face curled around into a small, spiral like shape. His eyes were narrow, and almost black like his hair. He was dressed formally, in a black suit with an orange shirt underneath it with a black tie pushed right up to his neck.

Now Tsuna had seen quite a few strange things in his life there was no denying that, but he'd never seen a young kid dressed up like this before at this time of day unless they were attending a wedding or a funeral – something formal like that.

"I...y-yeah," Tsuna admitted, dropping his bag to the floor, not taking his eyes off of the kid, "Who are you...?"

Before he had a chance to reply, the kitchen door opened and Giotto walked out of it, sipping a glass of flavoured water as he walked over to the two of them, a blank look on his face.

"So you've met him then Reborn?" Giotto said in a bored tone, glancing up at Tsuna to catch and hold his gaze, his blue eyes hardening on the others brown ones, "I told you he looked pathetic."

"Hn," Reborn said, folding his arms and looking Tsuna up and down slowly, examining him almost as an unreadable expression crossed his face, "You both look just as pathetic."

"Oi," Giotto said quickly, his eyes averting to the back of Reborn's head, glaring at him, "Say that again and I'll get oka-san to ship you back home now."

"It's not my fault my cousins look pathetic," Reborn replied, turning his head to look at Giotto.

Tsuna's mouth fell agape slightly. _This_ was his cousin!

He really didn't need another Giotto, one was bad enough. This guy already seemed to be just like his twin brother – enough so that he didn't even feel threatened by insulting Giotto or poking fun at him.

"Tch," Giotto scoffed, holding his drink tighter as he looked away from them both, scowling, "He's the only pathetic looking one here. I look nothing like him."

"Idiot," Reborn said, reaching up and whacking the back of Giotto's head hard, "You should be setting a better example. That's why you're pathetic."

"Reborn!" Giotto yelled, rubbing the back of his head as he turned to glare at the young boy intently, his face slowly twisting in anger.

"Don't yell at me," Reborn said, glancing back over at Tsuna before looking back at Giotto, a very faint smirk tugging at the corners of his lips, "You're both as bad as one another."

Tsuna felt his mouth fall open even wider. Did this kid – his cousin – really just hit his brother and not get away with it? Was his brother scared of their cousin! Did their mom tell Giotto to be nice towards Reborn or something? If it was anyone else, Giotto would've had them on the floor by now and would be beating them to a pulp. How on earth did their cousin get away with _that_?

Scratch the earlier comment; this guy wasn't _just_ as bad as Giotto.

He was worse.

Tsuna tore his eyes away from his cousin and looked back up at Giotto, who was glaring right back at him. The intensely icy cold glare made Tsuna physically shiver as he felt his heart rate pick up out of fear. By the looks of it, Reborn wasn't going to make the tension between he and Giotto any better and if Tsuna knew Giotto as well as he thought he did, then he was most likely going to be blamed for anything and everything Reborn did to Giotto.

_As if Giotto wasn't bad enough already...I don't need this cousin making it worse..._Tsuna thought as he quickly hurried upstairs away from his cousin and twin, not wanting to be caught in a crossfire right now.

* * *

**EDIT 04/08/11: Father does not understand the term 'no I'm busy writing'. I might as well say it's the 5th you know. It is in Germany. But this is Britain I'm in so I still have twenty minutes before the 5th.**

**Anyways, didn't exactly double everything but this chapter flows so much better now makes me want to hnng over it. Going to nap before I do the next one I'm about to pass out.**


	5. Chapter 05: Secrets

**EDIT 05/03/11: Okay so this is where things are really going to start changing up a little and quite a number of bits are going to be added and a bit taken away. You've probably seen this happen in the previous chapters where some minor details were changed and such but this is for the sake of keeping the story at a good pace and flow.**

* * *

_Chapter 05: Secrets_

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_Everyone is like the moon, and has a dark side in which he never shows anybody -_Mark Twain

* * *

The days that followed after Reborn's arrival during the rest of the week were uneventful and came in a minatory blur. Everything came and went so alarmingly fast, days went by like hours and the hours went by like minutes – it was like something was waiting to happen and it was going to any moment. Tsuna just had no idea when, and that wasn't a good thing. In fact, the brunette preferred it this way, where everything was quickly moving back into the ordinary, even if ordinary meant uneventful. Why? Because ordinary didn't involve guns to the head and creepy stalker kissing you the second time they meet you.

At the very least, his life wasn't heading down the 'cliché' route anymore. By cliché that meant basically everything that's happened in this last month. On the bright side, it all didn't happen in the space of a single week, _that_ would've been too much for Tsuna to take. He was _extremely_ glad that things were going back to normal – the soppy romance cliché's didn't interest him at all and by the way the past month had been going, that's what his life looked like it was becoming.

However, it wouldn't kill to have some spice in his life. For better terms, it wouldn't hurt if his life had some fun and games in it. At times, boring and ordinary _did_ get tiring, but the sort of 'excitement' he'd had this last month was something he could not handle on a day-to-day basis.

His life was just inexplicitly ordinary. He had a loving mother who, like Tsuna, was a bit of a ditz at times whereas his father was an apparent businessman that he rarely ever got to see since he was working on a 'special' type of project. Thus, he'd be gone from the house for days at a time and then pop in for the evening only to leave early that next morning.

Then there was Giotto, what more could he summarize Giotto with other than the fact they were rivals in everything they did? They hated each other, but that was an understatement in itself. They despised each other, even if that hatred was more or less one sided in theory.

He had family abroad also, like most families did, so that really didn't make him less ordinary than the next person. Despite the fact said family lived in Italy where all these weirdo's and attackers were coming from, it was perfectly normal.

Sighing, Tsuna stared down at the test paper in his hands as he sat on a damp park bench. He'd just finished school, and earlier that day he had last week's maths test handed back to him today – which he had failed. That wasn't something unusual either, he often failed everything he did, so it wasn't like Tsuna was expecting anything more than an F grade for this test.

At least he could use the excuse that he had detention as to why he was late home while thinking up yet another excuse as to why he had failed yet _another_ test. The times when Nana thought her youngest son was studying for an exam were actually the times Tsuna spent playing videogames while his brother was out or downstairs watching TV.

When Tsuna thought about it however, it didn't make much sense. The fact that these people were Italian and from Italy and then a few weeks later, his cousin from _Italy_ shows up. It just really didn't make sense.

Shuddering, Tsuna rubbed his arms slightly as he tried to warm himself up. He couldn't help but slowly begin to think that this was all connected somehow. Call him irrational, but the more he began to think about it being connected, the more this all started to make sense.

A guy points a gun at him – asking him where someone was and lets him go. Later that night, he's nearly attacked by two hooded Italian people and then saved by a mysterious Italian guy who turned out to be a creepy stalker. A few weeks later: his cousin comes to visit, but he was _told_ this right before he was attacked.

What if it _was_ Tsuna that man was looking for? What if that man knew the attackers, and the reason he let him go was because he wanted the attackers to kill him? So did that make his saviour a good guy or a bad guy? He had saved him from being killed after all, but he turned out to be a completely different person the next time Tsuna encountered him. And why were they wearing all of these hoods? There was something definitely suspicious about that, why wouldn't they want their faces to be seen? Well, for the attackers, it was understandable why they didn't want to be seen, but Ie? He didn't really have an excuse to mask his identity.

None of it made sense.

Plus, Ie knew Giotto from back when Giotto used to visit Italy. Did that mean he knew Reborn too? What if Giotto _knew_ the attackers too? He did sound pretty confident when telling the teacher that we should just leave the attackers alone and then they'd go, perhaps he knew something that he wasn't telling the police either.

Maybe Tsuna was just over thinking this, but there had to be a connection between it all. The fact he was related to Giotto, who _knew_ Ie who had, from the sounds of it had known the attackers, made this situation all too weird. He was _alive_ whilst other people were _dying_.

And when the attackers, when they said Tsuna could see and hear them, did that mean that all the other people they'd killed not been able to see or hear them? If that was the case, then what on earth _were_ they? Were they even human? The way they'd gone about speaking about Tsuna like he was something to eat suggested they weren't. But if they weren't human, then what were they?

Maybe he _should_ tell someone about this, if he did, maybe they could put a connection between everything. Perhaps if he told Giotto about Ie, he could explain who he was. Or maybe if he even asked Reborn about it – sure they hadn't spoken much over the time he had been here, but it was a conversation starter at least. If he didn't know anything, then Reborn could tell him so and his mind would be put at ease a little about all this being connected.

Tsuna stood up. That's what he'd do – he'd go home and he'd ask the two of them separately about it, that way then if he ever ran into Ie again he could be prepared.

Just as he turned to start walking home, he was sent nearly tumbling backwards into the floor as someone ran straight into him. Stumbling back, but keeping enough momentum so he didn't fall to the ground, Tsuna gently gripped the person's arms and held them steady as he tried to regain composure.

"S-sorry—!" he said as he pulled away from the other, his hands still gripping lightly on the others arms.

To Tsuna's surprise, the person turned out to be a girl. She was smaller than he was and had purple hair that looked like it had been clipped back so the ends of her hair stuck up over the top of her head. Her middle parted bangs both fell down to her jaw line while her eyes were a dark shade of purple themselves.

"N-no—! I-it was my fault...I-I'm sorry...!" she stammered back, her eyes averting away from Tsuna's as he gently pulled out of his grip.

"No really! I-it's my fault, I should've looked before I got up...you were just in a hurry...I wasn't being considerate," Tsuna assured slowly. He wasn't really entirely sure how to approach this situation – the only girl he'd ever managed to have a decent conversation with in his life was his mother, and those never lasted long. There were a few times where he attempted to talk to a girl in his class, Kyoko Sasagawa, but didn't even manage to get past the hello part without having to run away.

Basically, he wasn't good at talking with girls.

She shook her head, "I-I shouldn't have been running...Mukuro-sama tells me not to run...I-I should've listened to him..." she quietly said as she looked down at the floor.

"Then...h-how about it's both of our faults?" Tsuna suggested, scratching the back of his head nervously as the girl slowly looked back up at him.

"...ano...what's your name?" she asked timidly, eyeing Tsuna with caution.

"Tsuna Sawada," Tsuna replied, smiling happily at the girl, "What's yours?"

Although a bit taken aback at first by Tsuna's name, as she peered closer to Tsuna, she sighed in relief. Of course, this bewildered Tsuna, but he thought nothing of it as the girl gave him a small, warm smile after a few moments.

"I-It's very nice to meet you Sawada-san," she said, bowing slightly, "M-my name is Chrome Dokuro."

"It's very nice to meet you too Dokuro-san," Tsuna replied.

Then, they were both met with silence.

Tsuna would be lying if he said he wasn't unnerved by this girls constant staring. Was she socially inept like he was? All she seemed to do was stare at him with uncertainty in her eyes – almost like she didn't really believe who he was. He could feel his stomach begin to get fluttery and a sickly feel begin to form in the back of his throat – he couldn't fathom how intense this girls stare was.

Suddenly, Tsuna noticed her eyes flicker behind him over his shoulder and then widen.

"S-Sawada-san!" she exclaimed as she took a step back away from Tsuna, her eyes widening a little more.

Jolting in surprise, Tsuna turned his head and then his body around to look at what Chrome was looking at. His own eyes widened as he came face to face once more with those all too familiar red eyes from almost a month ago now – the same scarred face, dark skin, and menacing glare. That same gun was pointed in line with his forehead and the sound of the gun being loaded filled his ears as the man began to walk progressively closer to Tsuna.

"You again," the man growled, snarling at Tsuna as he drew closer, "I thought I told you to get lost if you don't know where he is—!"

"I-I'm sorry! I was just...!" Tsuna began to say.

"Shut up!" the man growled, walking quicker until he was just a mere few steps away from Tsuna, "Where is he!"

"I-I don't know who you're looking for!" Tsuna cried back, taking a step backwards, almost bumping into Chrome again.

"Trash," the man sneered, taking a step forward after Tsuna stepped back, his finger pushing against the trigger a little, "Don't bullshit me – _where is he_?"

"I don't know!" Tsuna yelled back, getting aggravated now. Why did this guy think he knew the person he was looking for? Didn't he understand that Tsuna didn't _know_ who it is he was looking for unless the guy gave him a name at the very least!

Growling, the man pulled the trigger, causing both Tsuna and Chrome to yelp out in fright. Closing his eyes instantly, Tsuna prepared himself mentally for being hit by the bullet. Sure, he didn't have much time to prepare himself, but he didn't want to overly panic by seeing the gun hit his forehead and know when he was going to die.

After a few moments, Tsuna slowly opened his eyes. It didn't take that long for a bullet to hit...right? Unless of course...

"Che, you got lucky," the man said, locking in the gun again and loading it before he pointed it in Tsuna's direction again, "Too lucky. Maybe if I kill you it'll draw him out."

"L-look I don't know who it is your looking for!" Tsuna said quickly, waving his hands at the other, "I-if you told me his name o-or if you can tell me who you are maybe I can—..."

"I thought I told you to _shut up_!" the man yelled angrily, his finger nearly pulling the trigger again.

"J-just who do you think you are! Waving your gun around like that a-anyway!" Tsuna yelled back bravely, beginning to shake out of fear as he felt Chrome gently grip his shirt from behind him, "T-this is a public place! You shouldn't be pulling that out l-like it's a toy!"

"I have every damned right to wave this gun around," the man replied in a low voice, lowering his gun, "I'm a vampire hunter."

"That doesn't g-give you any ex—...w-wait...w-what...?" Tsuna said, his voice beginning to crack and slow more near the end of his sentence, his eyes widening once again.

_Vampire_ hunter?

"W-wha—" Tsuna began again, only to be interrupted.

"I've been hired by your police force," the man growled, pocketing his gun, "Due to the suspicion of attacks, I contacted them to hire me."

Wait, wait, _wait_.

A vampire hunter?

But, vampires didn't even exist! What on earth were the police thinking! Is this what they didn't want the students knowing about? A vampire hunter roaming the streets looking for supposed _vampires_?

"A...a vampire hunter?" Tsuna asked, not really knowing what else to say.

"That's what I said trash," the man replied, eyeing Tsuna up and down, "Tch, he's obviously told you nothing yet then. It was pointless wasting my time on trash like you."

"W-who hasn't told me what?" Tsuna pressed, interested now. If this man _was_ connected to the attacks going on and he was looking for the attackers, then maybe he could save himself from having to question Reborn or Giotto about Ie and he could tell him! Maybe it _was_ Ie he was looking for, in that case Tsuna would be glad to tell this man where he last saw that stalker, as long as he was told who exactly he is.

Tsuna frowned – but that would mean this guy thought Ie and those attackers were vampires – that was just ridiculous. They couldn't be vampires! Sure their attacks were anything but humane but it didn't make them vampires! They didn't exist. They were creatures you read about in books.

"Giotto Sawada, your brother," the man said, "He's also who I'm looking for."

...

Wait, _what_!

Tsuna's mind went into a frenzy trying to think this through. So, this guy, who was a vampire hunter, was looking for _his brother_, not the attackers? What sort of sense did that make! Giotto wasn't the attacker! Tsuna was at home when Tsuna left to go and look for that dog and he would've surely recognized Giotto's voice _if_ he was one of those attackers.

But then...did that mean Giotto really did know those attackers, like he previously thought not long ago? Did that mean that this really was connected and his meeting with Ie wasn't an accident, that Ie really had been watching him. This was all too weird...and on top of that this guy thought that they were vampires. _Vampires_!

"...y-you're looking for my brother...?" Tsuna squeaked.

"Idiot, do you have to repeat everything everyone says?" the man spat, "Yes, I'm looking for your brother. He has information I need."

"...h-how do you know he's my brother! I-if you need to talk to him – or kill him – that bad t-then why didn't you just follow me home!" Tsuna questioned.

"Idiotic trash!" the man yelled, pulling out his gun again, "It doesn't matter _how_ I know your brother, it's none of your concern! And if I followed you home, you would be dead – _they_ would have killed you."

"...t-the attackers?" Tsuna asked quietly, eyeing the gun carefully.

"Stop."

A gentle, gloved hand pushed Tsuna aside and where Chrome was once standing, a taller man stepped forth in front of Tsuna. Like chrome, the man had purple hair, except his had more of an indigo hue to it and from what Tsuna could see, the man had blue eyes instead of purple ones. Glancing behind him, Tsuna was shocked when he didn't see Chrome there at all. Had she run off while Tsuna and the man were talking?

"The Vongola law states Xanxus that the other half of the Vongola are not to reveal the secrets to the normal half of the Vongola," the indigo haired guy said calmly, a small smirk appearing on his face.

The man, Xanxus, turned his gun to point back at this new guy, clenching his teeth together, "It also states that if scum like you break the vow made between you and your _prince_ we have a right to kill you."

"Oh~?" the guy replied tauntingly, a small chuckle escaping his lips, "But I am neither a vampire nor a Vongola member. Just someone who watches through...other eyes."

"And why should I believe that you do not work for him trash," Xanxus replied, glaring harder.

"Now now, I don't believe you're in any position to ask any questions," the boy said slowly, walking towards Xanxus as he slowly pulled off his gloves, "This little 'game' the Vongola is playing, I do believe that one of the rules is that you are not to reveal who you are and what you hunt to the innocent, no~? Does that not now give direct right for the other side to directly approach Tsuna?"

"Tch...!" Xanxus glowered at the pineapple haired boy, who only continued to innocently smirk in response. Somehow, Tsuna could tell that whatever this strange boy was saying homed in true for this Xanxus guy, and the look on Xanxus' face said that he wasn't too pleased about it either.

"I believe you've done more than enough damage here, hunter," the boy said, his smirk turning into a taunting grin, "I suggest you leave, before things get more out of hand~ we wouldn't want that now, would we?"

Without another word, Xanxus pocketed his gun, giving both Tsuna and the boy a final glance each before walking off, not looking back at either of them.

What on earth was going on exactly? Game? Rules? Who were the Vongola? What did Xanxus tell him that he wasn't supposed to know? That there were vampires? But there was no proof vampires were real...and how exactly did his brother fit into all of this? What did Xanxus mean by 'prince'? So many questions, Tsuna couldn't keep up. He had secretly thought once seeing this indigo haired man step forward that his previous questions would've been answered, now he was more confused than ever.

Just _what_ was going on?

The other turned around to face Tsuna, causing the brunette to start a little – he didn't have two blue eyes like Tsuna previously thought, he had _one_ blue eye while the other was a deep crimson red, its pupil twisted into a weird, odd shape.

"Well," he began, closing his eyes and rubbing his forehead, his grin never leaving his face, "May I just say, dear Vongola, you are in very, very deep trouble."

"...e-eh? Me?" Tsuna asked, glancing behind him just to make sure no one else was around that this guy could be talking to.

"Heh," the boy chuckled, opening his eyes to look at Tsuna, "It seems although you know too much, you seem to know so little..."

"...j-just...w-who are you exactly...?" Tsuna quietly asked, taking a small step backwards.

"Because she trusts you, I will reveal my identity," he replied, moving his hand away from his face, "My name is Mukuro Rokudo, and you are Tsuna Sawada."

_Mukuro...Chrome mentioned that name earlier..._Tsuna thought slowly, gazing at this Mukuro.

"I-it's—...t-thank you for saving me Rokudo-san," Tsuna stuttered.

"It's my pleasure, dearest Vongola," Mukuro chuckled, walking towards Tsuna, "I know what you wish to know Vongola, it's obvious, but I must ask something in return for what I'll tell you."

"...c-can I know what that is first?" Tsuna asked cautiously.

"Kufufu...a smart boy you are," Mukuro smirked, leaning down to Tsuna's level, his face a mere few inches away from Tsuna's as he smirk widened, "I wish for you to take care of Chrome, and let her stay with you."

"U-uh..." Tsuna began, looking around, his face flushing slightly at the closeness, "W-well...I don't know where she is...a-and I don't know if m-my mother would say yes—..."

"She will return soon," Mukuro cut him off, standing up properly so he was looking down at Tsuna.

"But my mother—!" Tsuna tried to say again.

"Will understand," Mukuro finished for Tsuna, his eyes hardening on the other, "She, like you, is unsafe."

"U-unsafe? From what?" Tsuna asked, feeling himself beginning to get scared again, his heartbeat increasing.

Mukuro walked over to the bench Tsuna had been previously sitting on a little while ago now and patted the seat next to him, gesturing for Tsuna to come and sit next to him. Hesitantly obliging, Tsuna sat down next to Mukuro and turned to look at him again, waiting for answers. Why exactly was he – and Chrome for that matter – unsafe? What sort of danger were they in? He needed to know.

"I can't be specific Vongola, or I'd have to kill you," Mukuro chuckled, turning his own head to look at Tsuna, "I cannot tell you who the person who saved you from the attackers is, that's one thing you must find out for yourself. However, I can assure you that vampires are indeed very real."

"W-wha—" Tsuna began, only to have Mukuro's slender finger press against his lips, quieting him.

"These 'attackers', as much as that Vongola dog would like to believe it, are not the...let's say 'forms' of the people he actually needs to find," Mukuro began, moving his finger away from Tsuna's lips, "All you need to know Vongola, is that the people who are protecting you, are also the people who can betray you. _You_ cannot be killed by these attackers because you, like a handful of others, are a special case."

"...special case?" Tsuna asked, confused.

"I can't go into much detail about that Vongola, or I'd be breaking the rules~" Mukuro said playfully, grinning a bit, "But, only your...other form and your 'mate' are able to kill you – if you didn't have another form, then it'd only be your mate. Any other human can kill you, but these vampires, no matter their forms, cannot."

"...I-I'm really confused right now," Tsuna said, shifting a little in his seat, "What do you mean by forms? A-and why would people want to kill me?"

"Ah now you see, if I told you that..." Mukuro said, his grin widening.

"You'd have to kill me..." Tsuna replied under his breath before shaking his head, "How can I trust you?"

"You can't know," Mukuro replied simply, "You just have to take my word for it Vongola. I'm on neither side, but since _you_ are the best person to take care of my dearest Chrome, I'm willing to hand out a little information to you so you can keep your wits about you."

"W-what about my brother? And my cousin, Reborn," Tsuna pressed, scooting closer to Mukuro, "Do _they_ know about all of this? Would they be able to tell me why I'm in danger?"

"If they wish," Mukuro replied, looking away from Tsuna, "It's difficult to say, considering Giotto's situation."

"...situation?" Tsuna asked.

"So you're not aware~" Mukuro chuckled, obviously amused.

"I guess not," Tsuna sighed, looking away and letting his shoulder slump, "I-I guess I can trust you...I-I mean I don't really think this whole vampire thing has sunk in yet though...but I suppose that's to be expected—...!"

Tsuna jumped as he felt a body begin to lay against his own, turning his head to see Chrome once again gently sleeping against his body with Mukuro nowhere in sight. Where Mukuro had gone and how he'd gone away so fast, Tsuna didn't know and wasn't sure he really wanted to after all he'd just had to take in.

Sighing again slightly, Tsuna stood up and carefully picked up Chrome, making sure not to wake the sleeping girl and began to make his way back to his house, doing his best to ignore the weird looks people from Namimori High were giving him.

_I'm never going to complain about my life being too boring again..._

* * *

After arriving back home, Tsuna had his excuse for arriving home late. He explained to his mother how he had bumped into Chrome on the way home from school and that she had just been kicked out of her home and needed a place to stay. Okay, so Tsuna wasn't the most inventive person in the whole world but his mother never needed much convincing. Besides, the girl was tiny, thin and completely innocent looking – it's not like she was suspicious and edgy looking. And it wasn't a complete lie either, she _did_ need a place to stay...but it was because she was in danger.

Of course, he left that part out. He didn't think it was best to discuss what Mukuro had told him with his mother.

"Of course she can say here!" Nana said happily, "I'm so proud of you Tsu-kun! Looking out for others like that...we can move Reborn in with you and Giotto for the time being!"

Okay, so _maybe_ he wasn't really reaping the benefits of this. But Chrome was a girl...and girls needed their space, it's not like she could share a bed with him or Giotto. Nor could she share a bed with his cousin, even if he wasn't a teenager like he and his brother were. Chrome herself was definitely a teenager and his mother was right in putting her in her own room.

He just didn't like the thought of sharing with his brother _and_ Reborn.

Sighing to himself, he made his way upstairs to his bedroom, for once hoping his brother was in the house for once. Never again would he wish this, but he needed answers, more than the ones Mukuro had given him and god forbid he needed them _now_. He was going to come clean, about everything that had happened this last month, and then hopefully get his answers.

Tsuna managed to open the door with his hand, keeping Chrome in a steady grip as he pushed the door open with his foot, carrying Chrome into the room and placing her on his bed, instantly relaxing. He had no upper body strength, so even for such a small girl, it put strain on Tsuna's muscles. At least he managed to make it back home and up the stairs with her in his arms though.

"...why the _hell_ did you bring a girl home?" he heard his brothers voice ask from behind him.

Turning around, Tsuna gave Giotto a serious look before heading over to their bedroom door, shutting it and then moving back over so he was standing a little ways away from Giotto's bed, preparing himself for whatever was going to happen next.

"L-look, Giotto, I-I know you don't like me, but I'd _really_ appreciate it if y-you could just answer these questions," Tsuna started, quickly carrying on before his brother could reply, "A-almost a month ago, t-the attackers nearly killed me, b-but this guy...I didn't know h-his name then, stopped them and saved me. T-three weeks later I met him again, on the way t-to school, he said his name was Ie, a-and that I shouldn't be walking out alone, since it was dangerous. H-he said he knew you...b-but I didn't want to ask you about it since you've been ignoring me since the night with the dog...today, this g-guy with a gun that I ran into on my way home from school before I met the attackers f-found me again today, after I met Chrome."

Tsuna gestured over to the girl before continuing, "H-he said he was looking for you and that he was a vampire hunter t-then said a bunch of stuff about this thing called the Vongola...t-then out of nowhere, this guy told the man with the gun, w-who he called Xanxus, that he was breaking the rules of some game...? A-and then the guy – Xanxus – went away and the other guy, Mukuro, e-explained to me that these attackers couldn't kill me like I previously thought, b-but my form and my mate could b-because I was a special case like other people...?"

Taking a deep breath, Tsuna pulled out the chair of their computer desk and sat down in it, sighing heavily, "I...I just want to know what you know...h-how Ie knows you...w-why Xanxus wants you...what the Vongola are, why a vampire hunter would want _you_..."

It was a long and heavy silence before Giotto sighed, sitting up in his bed and placing the book he was reading down. He took off his glasses and placed them on his bedside table, not looking at Tsuna.

"You talk too fast," Giotto muttered, looking up at Tsuna, "But I managed to understand it all."

"T-then you'll answer my questions...?" Tsuna asked hopefully, shifting in his chair.

"I don't know who this 'Ie' is," Giotto said sharply, his blue eyes boring into Tsuna's, "The Vongola are...our Italian family. Our father took our mother's maiden name out of customary instead of she taking the name Vongola."

"...w-why don't I don't any of this and you do then?" Tsuna asked.

Standing, Giotto glared down at Tsuna, "Get up."

"...h-huh?" Tsuna replied, sitting back in his chair a bit.

"I said get _up_," Giotto hissed, grabbing Tsuna's arm and jerking him out of his seat, "You said you wanted to know why _I_ know about this and you don't, so get up."

Yelping a bit at Giotto's hard jerking on his arm, Tsuna managed to settle himself comfortably on his two feet again, only to suddenly have his brother grip his shoulders and pushing him back into the nearest wall, glaring down at him harder.

"W-wait—! O-ow...! Y-you didn't answer my other...!" Tsuna began.

"_I'm getting to it_!" Giotto yelled, his voice dripping with venom as his nails begun to dig into Tsuna's shoulders, causing Tsuna to cry out slightly in pain, shifting uncomfortably.

"L-let go! You're hurting me!" Tsuna said, struggling in Giotto's grip, trying to wriggle out of it. He could feel tears sting in his eyes as his brothers nails dug deeper into his skin, causing him to cry out in pain again as they did so, helplessly pushing against Giotto's chest.

"That man, Xanxus wanted me...yes?" Giotto whispered against Tsuna's ear, causing the brunette to stop his helpless struggling and remain still, glancing over at the wad of golden hair by his face, tensing against the wall as the others soft lips brushed against his ear gently from the closeness, panting against it almost.

"...y-yes..." Tsuna meekly replied, feeling his eyes slowly close from Giotto's hot breath tickling the shell of his ear, shuddering at the feel,

"Do you know why that is...?" Giotto asked, glancing to the side to look at Tsuna before looking against again, his lips moving close to Tsuna's ear with every breath.

"N-no," Tsuna replied, his eyes completely closed now.

"It's because..." Giotto slowly began, a small chuckle heard before he continued, "_I'm_ a vampire."

Tsuna froze.

...his brother...his twin...a vampire?

His eyes shot open, pushing Giotto away with little force to stare up at the blonde, his eyes widen with confusion and fear, unsure exactly as to how to react to that. Giotto only looked back at him with a calm, expressionless face as the corners of his lips twitched into somewhat of a hidden, uncertain smirk, not moving his eyes away from Tsuna's own.

"A...vampire?" Tsuna squeaked.

"Yes," Giotto said, stepping towards Tsuna again, "A vampire."

"B-but how I—" Tsuna began, being cut off as Giotto pressed his body against his, causing his breath to hitch instead as their bodies were pressed impossibly close to one another's. Tsuna's face flushed as he felt Giotto's hot breath loom closer to his face, his brother's hands gripping his upper arms gently, but firmly as he leaned in closer, causing Tsuna's breathing to quicken.

"Just shut up," Giotto sighed, his lips moving down so they were just hovering over the skin of Tsuna's neck, his lips brushing over it gently, "The more I hear you talk, the worse that...that urge gets."

Pressing his lips fully against Tsuna's neck, the younger twin let out a soft cry as Giotto began softly sucking on the skin gently. His tongue brushed across Tsuna's hot skin, wetting the others neck as a small gasp escaped Tsuna's throat. Giotto gripped Tsuna's upper arms tighter as he continued to lick and suck on Tsuna's neck sensually, his tongue flicking and rubbing tenderly, marking the skin as his own.

Shakily gripping Giotto's shoulders, Tsuna allowed his eyes to close as his mind spun into a whirlwind of confusion. Why was he letting his brother, who he hated, do something so intimate to him? Was Giotto preparing his neck so he could easily suck his blood dry and kill him? Then again, Mukuro had said that only Tsuna's mate and other form could kill him...and he doubted Giotto was either of them, so he shouldn't have been as worried as he was...right?

Giotto pushed his hips up against Tsuna's hard and the smaller boy let out a quiet gasp in surprise, digging his own nails into Giotto's shoulders as his own hips pushed back against Giotto's. His brother softly groaned against his neck as their clothed groins gently rubbed against one another's through their school trousers in just a bare circular motion.

As Giotto kissed up his neck, Tsuna shivered as he felt the cold air hit the wet skin patch on his neck. In response, Giotto grinded up hard against Tsuna, pushing Tsuna right back into the wall, which earned a pleasant gasp from his twin, causing Giotto to chuckle in amusement. He let go of Tsuna's arms and move his hands down to Tsuna's hips, gripping them gently as he tugged them forward to meet his harder, faster grinds at the pace he wanted.

Tsuna bit his lower lip as he slowly began to wrap his arms around Giotto's neck for support, his face turning bright red. With each hard grind, he felt a hot sensation surge through his body, causing his breath to hitch each time their hips met with one another's, an occasional moan escaping through the cracks of his lips as he felt himself slowly beginning to get turned on by how intense and erotic this situation was, tensing his lower areas in embarrassment, trying to shy away somewhat.

As Giotto's actions became harder and faster, Tsuna began to pant more and more, his face slowly losing its tense composure and began to relax into the situation, his hips moving hard and freely back up against Giotto's, blushing harder as he felt his brothers hard on push against his pants, beginning to shy away at the thought of turning his brother on. Each grind got harder, more intense with every passing moment, his whole body beginning to feel like it was on fire from his brother's light kisses up and down his neck, the entire sensation feeling utterly overwhelming.

"Tsuna..." Giotto whispered seductively against his ear, making the younger one of the two moan lightly in response, Tsuna's hands moving up through Giotto's hair slowly, pulling the blonde closer, closer than he already was.

"A-ah...Giotto..." Tsuna mewled breathlessly, his breathing heavy and hard, cheeks pink from the pleasure and body fully submitted to his brother's. Any thoughts about how wrong this could be and how wrong it was had gone out of the window the moment Giotto began grinding against him, he couldn't register wrong from right in a moment this intense, it was too hard. _This_ just felt right, and that's all he needed...

"...I wonder sometimes why I bother to question your motives Giotto."

Within an instant, Giotto pulled away from Tsuna, quickly turning around to face Reborn who was standing lazily in there doorway. Tsuna, on the other hand, nearly fell to the floor from the lack of support, leaning against the wall to stop himself from doing so as he opened his eyes, turning his own head to look at Reborn, his face still completely red and flushed.

Snapping back into reality, Tsuna quickly wiped his brother's saliva off of his neck and blushed intensely out of embarrassment and anger. How could he let his brother _do_ that to him? Touch him so intimately. What on _earth_ was he thinking!

"He asked why Xanxus wanted me," Giotto said calmly, his face now completely expressionless and emotionless again, "So I showed him."

"Tch," Reborn said, looking over at Tsuna, his hard black eyes meeting Tsuna's brown one's, "If that's the case, then I just saved you from becoming a vampire, stupid Tsuna."

"...y-you were going to...?" Tsuna began, looking at Giotto.

The blonde shrugged, "Who knows."

"..."

For once, Tsuna had nothing he honestly wanted to say to his brother in retaliation.

* * *

**EDIT 08/08/11: OMG I'M HORRIBLE THREE DAYS TO DO THIS. Ugh I knew this was going to be the hardest chapter to edit; I just knew it. You really don't know how hard it was to edit this chapter especially with all the new information and stuff added in.**

**Anyways, I've devised an update schedule. No, 'The List' and 'Pick Me!' aren't on it because The List may undergo some editing and Pick Me!...you have to be in the mood to write that sort of stuff guys, like seriously. But yeah, check it out if you want. I might actually stick to it.**


	6. Chapter 06: Game

**EDIT 08/08/11: Crying because I wasn't even fifteen when I wrote this chapter it's that old I was fourteen I'm now sixteen you don't understand how much I want to cry at my failure right now. ON THE BRIGHT SIDE THIS IS THE LAST LONG CHAPTER BEFORE I EDIT SMALLER CHAPTERS omg happiness.**

* * *

_Chapter 06: Game_

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_You have to learn the rules of the game. And then you have to play it better than anyone else -_Albert Einstein

* * *

A young red headed boy sighed exasperatedly as he scanned his tired red eyes over the new printed out pieces of paper he held in his hands. His job was far from fun, but he couldn't complain about it – it's not like he was out doing his boss' dirty work. At the very least, he could just look over the paperwork for him, even if it was exhausting.

He rubbed the tears from yawning out of his eyes as he blinked a few more times to get a better look at what the words on the paper were actually saying. He didn't get that much sleep last night, due to the overwhelming number of reports and pinpointed locations on where exactly the boss' 'target' could be. And who was there to sort through the logical and the illogical? That's right, him.

Promptly, he sighed. Not only was it his job to sort through all of this, but he was also his boss' job giver – in a sense that he took direction from his boss and the passed on the victims and the time they were to be killed to the underlings. His job required accuracy and a lot of attention, because if he even got one time or date wrong, it'd be him that got into trouble – not the underlings. He would be the one who would get beaten up by his boss and get the earful for giving bad guidance, that's just how things went.

"Kozato-kun?" a small voice called from the doorway of the room he was in, causing the red haired boy to start a little. He turned around quickly to look at who exactly it was who called his name.

Sighing in relief, he relaxed when he instantly identified the person as Nagi. Sweet, innocent Nagi who, like him, didn't do much but stay cooped up in this abandoned house all day long. Her hair had grown longer over the time he had known her, a little ways passed her mid back and her side fringe now hung over half of her face, the ends just coming past her slender chin, revealing only one of her purple eyes instead of both of them.

"Ah...is there something you need...?" he asked nervously, clutching the papers in his hand tighter.

"Are those this week's results?" Nagi asked, her voice perking up as she began to make her way over to him, "Can I see?"

"N-no!" he said quickly, causing Nagi to stop in her tracks, "B-boss told me not to s-show anyone until he had seen...sorry..."

His gaze quickly averted from Nagi's and down to the floor, his face flushing out of embarrassment. He wasn't good at talking with other people, even if it was only Nagi.

"...fine," she said, turning on her heel and leaving the room quickly, causing the boy to let out a small, sigh of relief once she left.

It's not that he didn't like Nagi...it was just the girl could be a bit...much at times. Something about her was just slightly off.

"Ah, Enma-kun~!" a new voice drawled out, heeding all off Enma's thoughts and grinding them to a halt. Enma averted his red eyes to look back up to the new perpetrator of the room and felt his whole body stiffen a little more when he visually confirmed who it was who called his name, "There you are...I've been looking for you~"

Enma gulped quietly as he fiddled with the pieces of paper in his hands nervously, beginning to shake a little. He hadn't finished reading over the results yet...what if he got mad? What if there was a mistake in them he hadn't come across yet? Oh god, he hadn't prepared himself for his boss' violent anger yet, he could feel his heart rate quicken as his boss drew closer to him.

"...y-you have...?" Enma asked quietly, tearing his eyes away from his boss' intimidating gaze, "I-is there something you needed...?"

His questioned was answered by a sinister looking smirk.

* * *

It took a good while for things to calm down. Giotto had promptly left soon after Reborn began questioning him and in turn the front door was heard slamming – leaving Tsuna with Reborn and sleeping Chrome. Reborn had calmly left a few moments later to follow Giotto, which left Tsuna alone with his thoughts on what just happened. I mean, that was a good thing, since he had time to take in the fact his brother was a vampire, one of which who just molested him. It was also a bad thing since he had more questions he needed answering and there was no one here to answer them.

Both Reborn and Giotto came back about half an hour later, neither looked happy and both had a scowl on their faces. Giotto refused to look anywhere in Tsuna's direction and sat on far end of his bed, away from where Tsuna was sitting on the desk chair. Reborn sat on the corner of the desk and folded his arms, remaining silent.

The silence was nothing less of awkward and remained that way for a few moments. After all, their cousin walked in on Giotto _apparently_ about to suck the blood out of Tsuna's neck because Giotto was a _vampire_. If anything, Tsuna would've been more surprised if the silence wasn't awkward.

"So," Reborn finally said, glancing from Tsuna to Giotto, "I guess there's some explaining to do."

"He doesn't _need_ to know," Giotto said back, turning his head so he could glare at Reborn.

"K-know what...?" Tsuna asked, looking away from Giotto and up at Reborn, a puzzled look on his face.

"About your involvement in this..." Reborn began to say, hardening his gaze on Giotto until it became that of a glare, "_Mess_."

"If we have it under control, he doesn't need to know his involvement in this," Giotto snapped, tearing his gaze away from Reborn to look at the floor.

"Tch," Reborn said, looking back at Tsuna, "There's a reward out for any vampire who finds you and brings you to their prince."

"...h-huh?" Tsuna asked, sitting up in his seat more, "Their prince...? W-why would a vampire prince want me?"

"Who knows," Reborn replied, "All we know is that the other half of the Vongola is looking for you because they believe you're the prince."

"...e-eh!" Tsuna exclaimed, standing up out of his seat, "B-but why would they want me! I-I'm not even part of w-whatever this Vongola thing is!"

"Actually, we are," Giotto sighed, leaning back so he was leaning against the wall, "Our father's uncle – our great uncle – is the Vongola's king, of both the vampires and those who aren't vampires, therefore making us part of the Vongola _and_ royalty."

Tsuna felt like face palming. So _everyone_ else knew about this but him? Did their own mother even know about this! Hell, that Mukuro guy must've known about it, that's why he called him 'Vongola' and not 'Sawada'. If a total stranger knew about this then obviously those close to him must've known too.

"B-but why do they want _me_?" Tsuna asked again, sitting back down in the chair.

"The Ninth is sick," Reborn explained, "Doctors speculate he may die – and the current Vongola successor – the prince, has run off. The Ninth, due to his health, does not know about this and those who work under him have been panicking."

"B-but that still doesn't answer the question why t-they want me and not Giotto," Tsuna pressed, shifting in his seat, "I-I'd be a terrible king..."

"The prince looks a lot like you, thus since the Vongola cannot locate him, their attention has turned onto you. They plan to turn you into a vampire, like the prince is, and make you take his place," Reborn said.

"B-but this guy told me that only my other form a-and my mate can turn me into a vampire," Tsuna replied, frowning slightly.

"The Vongola have other means to turn you into a vampire," Giotto said bluntly before Reborn could reply.

"Oh..." Tsuna said, looking down at his lap, "Y-you said before that the vampires were looking for me b-because their prince wanted me...? How does that—"

"There's some speculation that the Vongola prince is here in Namimori and is looking for you. We don't know why and we don't know if that's even true," Reborn answered.

"A-ano..."

All three heads turned to look over at the now awake Chrome who was sitting upright on Tsuna's bed, a small blush on her face. Her eyes were still tired looking from having been asleep for that long and her hair was slightly messy. She looked embarrassed from the sudden attention she was getting from the three, but averted her eyes quickly to the floor, ignoring it.

"...u-um," she quietly said, fiddling with the hems of her green skirt, blushing more, "If it helps...the p-prince is here in Namimori..."

"And how would you know that," Reborn asked bitterly, his eyes hardening on the girl.

"M-Mukuro-sama told me so..." she whispered, flinching slightly at the harshness in Reborn's voice.

"And why should we believe you?" Giotto asked impolitely, causing the small girl to start again, beginning to shake a little now.

"Y-you don't have to...I-I just thought t-to tell you..." she squeaked, squirming slightly under the stares.

"Hn..." Reborn said, turning away from Chrome, "If that _is_ the case, then we need to go to Italy to inform the Ninth on the situation."

Tsuna inwardly groaned. Italy, really? There was no way in hell he'd survive a day in Italy. He'd have no clue what anyone would be saying and the mass culture shock would throw him off – then having to meet family he's never even met before who didn't even speak his language would probably result in him embarrassing himself or something. The whole thought of it was just a bad idea altogether.

But then again, if he stayed here, from what Reborn had just told him he'd probably be in danger of more attacks from weird hooded vampires _and_ he'd probably end up running into Ie again, which definitely wasn't a good thing. Hell, he might even run into Xanxus again and he was pretty sure he wouldn't have anyone around to save him from the wrath of his gun by then and would end up dead.

Either way, no matter whether he stayed here in Japan or went to Italy, the results would be bad. The only thing Tsuna wanted to do right now was to let everything he had been told digest and to take it all in properly. He didn't want to think about going abroad to a place infested with vampires that wanted to turn him into one of them, nor did he want to think about the possibilities of bumping into Ie or Xanxus again – or even the attackers. Then again, the attackers were the least of his worries right now when compared to Ie and Xanxus.

Speaking of which, he _did_ need to ask Reborn about Ie, seeing as Giotto didn't know him. And there was no better time than to do it now while they were all in the midst of asking questions and answering them.

"Um," Tsuna said quickly, looking up at Reborn, "A-a month ago...I was nearly attacked by the attackers...a-and this guy w-who said his name was Ie three weeks afterwards saved me...d-do you know him...?"

"No," Reborn said, "What did he look like?"

"H-he was taller than I was and spoke in an Italian accent...?" Tsuna replied.

"No I mean what did he _look_ like idiot," Reborn sighed, beginning to get irritated.

"O-oh!" Tsuna said, his face flushing slightly, "I-I don't know...h-he had a hood over his face...I couldn't see him...h-he said he knew Giotto b-but Giotto said he didn't know who he was...h-he had a cloak on that stopped about here."

Tsuna gestured with his hands to show where exactly the cloak came up to on Ie's body.

"T-that's all I know," Tsuna finished quietly.

"No one but the Vongola royal family members wear cloaks like that," Reborn mused, looking over at Giotto, "You sure you didn't meet anyone by that name when you used to go to Italy?"

"Don't remember and don't care to remember," Giotto said, turning to face away from Reborn, Tsuna and Chrome completely, "But I don't think we should go to Italy yet, if some imposter is going around wearing the royal family cloak. I'd rather know who he is first and why he'd save Tsuna before going to see the Ninth."

"Fair enough," Reborn said before turning to look at Tsuna and then at Chrome, "Don't mind him, he's a sourpuss."

"No I'm not," Giotto sighed, turning back to face the three, "I just don't like anyone in this room."

"You don't like anyone," Reborn retorted back, smirking in Giotto's direction slightly before turning his head to look at Tsuna, "And thinking about it, you should try and find out who that Ie person is."

"Eh! Me!" Tsuna cried, a bit taken aback by that. He didn't really want to cross paths with Ie again. He'd go on living his life perfectly happy if he could forget that guy even existed _once_ he knew who he was. I know, it didn't make sense but Tsuna was curious – he just didn't think he'd be the one finding out who Ie was.

"Yes, you," Reborn replied, "It'd be better that way, if Giotto or I tried to find out who he is he might recognize us and not tell us."

Tsuna sighed, there wasn't much point in fighting with his cousin. Fighting with Reborn was more pointless than fighting with Giotto, even if they were more or less one in the same.

_Or was it…?_ Tsuna thought as he slyly glanced over at Giotto. Giotto was…possibly not as bad as Reborn, even if Reborn was nicer in general. Everything that had happened prior to this conversation…it was a completely different side to Giotto. But was that even a good thing? Did he even want to see or get to know that side of his twin? Tsuna quickly averted his eyes away to look back down at the floor.

No, he didn't. He didn't like the thought of his brother doing that to him again. He didn't like the thought he brother was a vampire and that he had been sharing a room with one for the past years of their lives. On top of it all, he didn't like the idea of his brother sucking and drinking his blood. Giotto even said there were other means to turn him into a vampire and if he knew them…

Tsuna shuddered at the thought. He didn't want to be a vampire. He would be lucky to get through high school alive let alone having this situation piled on top of him as well. It wasn't practical, nor realistic. Then again, half of the things he was told, if not all, weren't realistic at all.

Silence hung among the four of them as they all continued to sit where they were. There wasn't much else to say about the matter and Tsuna didn't really feel like asking anymore questions. He was still trying to digest the information he was just given. It was almost as if his entire life had just been flipped on its head and he was just plopped into a new one. He felt as though he didn't know anything anymore.

No one talked or moved until Nana's voice was heard calling them all downstairs for dinner. Even then, when everyone got up and filed out of the room, it was done in complete silence.

It seemed as though Tsuna wasn't the only one trying to take everything in.

* * *

After dinner that evening, Reborn decided that it would be best if Chrome began attending Namimori High with Tsuna and Giotto so then that way they could all keep an eye on each other. Tsuna knew that despite Reborn telling them that, it'd really only be he and Chrome keeping an eye out for each other while Giotto remained as anti-social as ever. It's not like it mattered though, Tsuna was far from glad that Giotto was continuing to keep a distance from him. He needed some space to think right now.

Chrome went through what every new student had to go through when starting Namimori High, she formally introduced herself in front of the class before scurrying to a spare seat in front of Tsuna, not wanting to be in the spotlight for too long. Many of the other male students were giving her 'the look' however, which even Tsuna could pick up on and he noticed it was making her feel uncomfortable. She obviously wasn't used to this much attention from people and Tsuna couldn't help but feel sorry for her.

Tsuna turned to look out of the window, his eyes feeling heavy. Of course now that Chrome was staying in their guest room, Reborn had decided that he'd be taking Tsuna's bed to sleep in for himself and forced Tsuna and Giotto to share the elder twin's small single bed. This resulted in Tsuna sleeping downstairs on the couch with a thin blanket and a few hard pillows.

He hardly got any sleep in the process of sleeping there and rather just lay on the couch and closed his eyes. At the most he must've gotten an hour or two but nothing more than that. Sleeping on the couch and sitting on it were two different things entirely, that or Tsuna was keeping himself up from the information earlier that evening.

Thus, he was finding it incredibly hard to not fall asleep in class right now, at least his desk was comfier than his sofa.

"You may take the seat next to Sawada, I'll move Moriyoki to a new seat when he's returned from his vacation," Tsuna faintly heard the teacher say as he gazed up to look at the front of the class with watery eyes, his vision blurred.

"…w-who is that?" the boy asked.

Tsuna rubbed his eyes and peered closer to take a better look at the boy. His hair was red – blood red, so incredibly red it was more colourful than anything else in the room. It drew attention to it, along with his eyes. His eyes were the same colour as his hair, blood red, a deep red colour that seemed almost unnatural.

Then again, a lot of unnatural things had been occurring lately.

"Sawada, raise your hand," Tsuna faintly heard the teacher say.

He wasn't paying too much mind to that however. He just continued to stare at this boy. Something about him seemed…off. Maybe it was just the colour of his hair and his eyes but there seemed to be something more underlying than that. Something Tsuna couldn't quite think of when he stared at this new student.

"Sawada-san…" Chrome whispered gently as she shook Tsuna's upper arm a little. She had turned around slightly so she could do this, which resulted in Tsuna jolting out of his seat almost from the light shake. He snapped out of his daze as he quickly shot his hand up in the air, his eyes widening slightly from the sudden rush of things.

"Y-yes!" Tsuna yelled, beginning to slowly calm down, "H-here."

The class sniggered quietly amongst themselves as the red haired boy wordlessly made his way over to sit next to Tsuna. He didn't even so much as glance in Tsuna's direction, instead he just focused on the desk he was heading for. Once he sat down however, he glanced up at Tsuna with his red eyes, their eyes meeting for a split second before breaking it. The moment was only brief, but it was enough to keep Tsuna staring afterwards.

Tsuna continued to stare at Enma for a few moments before turning away from the other to stare down at his desk. There was something about the others red eyes that seemed to be so…unusual. Something Tsuna himself couldn't exactly put his finger on.

* * *

Personally, he didn't like walking home. It didn't honestly appeal to him and he didn't like to admit it to anyone. Whatever had made him walk this way back home seemed completely unethical and idiotic – never had he walked this way back home. Never; so why today, since it obviously had nothing to do with the fact that something was causing Tsuna trouble on his way back home this way and he wanted to sort it out so his life could go back to being peaceful.

No, it wasn't like that. Not at all.

Giotto Sawada was doing this for beneficial reasons that just so happened to attribute to getting his brother out of trouble. That's all it was. There was nothing fancy about it, not at all. If he got rid of the cause of the problems arising in Namimori lately then that would mean he wouldn't have to 'protect' his brother and luckily for Tsuna, he wouldn't be bothered anymore.

It's not like whatever happened to Tsuna mattered to him. No, as a member of the Vongola, it was partially his duty to make sure that the secret of the vampires wasn't exposed. It's not like he wanted to do that job, but he had to.

Sighing, Giotto felt his walk slow as he turned a sharp corner to the next street. Why did Tsuna bother him so much? There was something about his twin that made him angry. Was it the fact that every time he thought about him his mind would hurt as a result? It was as though he couldn't remember something; as if there was something he was forgetting.

He halted as he approached a bus shelter and leaned against the clear glass with his right shoulder. His head cocked gently to the side so it could rest against the cool surface along with his shoulder as he closed his eyes. He inhaled deeply before letting out a loud sigh. All this stress tired him out, he wasn't used to it. When he got his hands on the cause of it, there would be hell to pay.

Opening his eyes once more, Giotto pressed the rest of the right side of his body against the damp glass pane and began tracing small circles on the window with his left index finger. Right now, he could pretend everything was peaceful; there was nothing he had to worry about.

_There's always something to worry about_, he thought to himself as he paused his actions with his finger and let out another exasperated sigh. Almost angrily, he pushed his body away from the bus shelter window and subconsciously rubbed his right arm to warm it up again.

"Well, well…" a voice suddenly interrupted, cutting through the thick silence like ice as silent footsteps drew closer behind Giotto, "I was expecting your twin, Giotto, however you will…do quite nicely."

Giotto stopped his movement in rubbing his arm and turned his head to the right slightly, cautious of being too quick with his movements as he began to turn his hips around to face this person. He had recognized the voice almost instantly.

"…is that so," Giotto quietly said as he turned around to face the other.

His blue eyes hardened on the figure before him as they met a deep shade of golden eyes. His expression was unchanging as the two stared at each other for a few moments whilst the others lips twisted into a small smirk. Inhaling sharply, yet quietly, Giotto clenched his fists as he spoke once more.

"…Ieyatsu."

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**EDIT 13/10/11: …omg I'm so sorry. No really, I am. I've been really busy lately with college work and handling groups on deviant art and there's so much drama everywhere it's making me sick.**

**I'm really thankful none of you have given up on me yet and I made a few cuts in this chapter just so I could get it out to you. Honestly I haven't given up even though I do feel a little deflated at the idea of fan fiction recently. But yeah, -.-**


	7. Chapter 07: Obsession

**After deep consideration, I decided to post this little prelude to chapter 7 as a separate chapter. What was chapter 7 and will be chapter 8 is in progress. It's…hard writing some certain characters in the next chapter, so I'll post this tid bit for you.**

**And thank you to all of your support. You've been amazing. I love you all. You, my fans, are what keep me going. Really. I'd have nothing to work or gain for if it wasn't for you. Just please stop asking me to make the chapters longer, if anything it puts me off. I'll make the chapters as long as I want to make them.**

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_Chapter 07: Obsession_

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_My significant other right now is myself, which is what happens when you suffer from a multiple personality disorder and self-obsession _-Joaquin Phoenix

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Imagine a world where everything was perfect. What does it look like to you? Perfection is different in all of our eyes, but nothing is completely perfect. We have an illusion of what we see to be perfection, but in the back of our mind, we know that the more perfect something is, the less we want it.

We want imperfection. You want an adventure.

But if you cannot see something, how do you know it exists? Does it just simply become real because your mind says so? Or is it the fear that perhaps something with an fearsome amount of treacherous power is lurking in the corner of your eyes, just waiting. Waiting. Waiting for the chance when you and your mind are alone. A game that the hunter plays with its prey. It's called life or death.

Sometimes we play this game with our own self. It's an obnoxious though, almost narcissist of ourselves. When you think about it however, the only person in control of these actions of yours, is you. So what happens when you're not in control? What happens when someone else, that is yourself yes, is in control? What happens when they have a power over you that leaves you deeply intoxicated with confusion that you have no other choice but to obey.

It was selfish, cruel and disgusting. Like a disease that infects you with paranoia, one of which is eternal. One of which you can never escape from.

Eyes that watch the lips that move, a tongue will dance and flicker like a flame that talks about ones most dire regret. A resolve is spoken, but never done. Only through the action of another can ones mind be at rest, for actions speak louder than the words that are whispered. Silent commands that cannot be broken.

He watches you, but you can't that, can you?

He's just waiting. Waiting for the moment in which he can devour you. You are the reason for his insanity, you are his anti-drug. Ambiguous eyes will watch your every move until you are alone, until he can gain control over you. Bitter tears are shed over you, but you don't know that. Would you rather know? Would it make the situation you're in better?

His heart is black. Black. Black like the night sky that envelopes you into an abyss of fear and monstrosity while the words whisper their silent laughter into your ears. Paranoia. Don't be afraid of yourself, he's only you. An image. Your other half.

Like two sides to a coin. Both good an evil. A balance in life that prevents chaotic climates from escalating the earth. You are the day, he is the night. But that's not good enough. No. No it's never good enough.

And soon, Tsuna Sawada…

Thin pale lips seemed to press together into a hateful, expressionless frown.

Yet those amber eyes, the different between he and Tsuna Sawada, seemed to flicker a smile of extravaganza, a playful smirk that ones lips could not play.

Prince of the Vongola: Tsunayoshi Sawada.

"I will make sure you see how the other half lives," he said with a cold undertone.

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_Owari~ (of chapter)_

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**Tsuna's stalker is revealed. To my memory, only one person guessed it right, though all the people I talk to on MSN knew who Tsuna's stalker was before hand. HDW!Tsuna. A lá 7227 is definitely ensured.**

**Most of you want to know why Giotto hates Tsuna so much. It'll be explained in the next chapter.**

**The question is: which one's the bad guy? Ieyatsu or Tsunayoshi?**

**Only I know the answer, and for you to find out, you know what to do.**


	8. Chapter 08: Abuse

**OMFG IT'S AN UPDATE YAY HURRAY OMGZZ IT'S THE FINAL COUNTDOWN 2012 OMG…**

**Yeah…anyways. I've been busy with a **_**lot**_** of Cosplay related shit and sorting out what on Earth is happening for London Expo this May. I'm being forced to grow my beloved hair and I was forced to dye it red also and the traumas killing me. I LOOKING LIKE A FREAKING MUSHROOM.**

**Anyways…yeah, spare me the rape please. **

**Also, **_this chapter contains graphic scenes of violence. If this offends you in anyway, find the page break where the meeting between Enma and Tsunayoshi ends_**.**

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_Chapter 08: Abuse_

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_Abuse is the weapon of the vulgar -_Samuel Griswold Goodrich

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He could tell that Tsunayoshi most certainly wasn't impressed with his tardiness. There was no denying it. The moment he had returned from school and walked through the front doors, the familiar tenebrous, dark aura had smothered the building entirely. It was think - heavy with vexation and acrimony that made Enma feel on edge and uneasy.

Scattered papers had been left lying around on the stone cold floor while variety of objects had been carelessly overturned and abused in a negligent manner. There was no mistaken it; Tsunayoshi was most definitely filled with some sort of animosity and although he was curious to what may have started it, Enma didn't want to be the one that caused it to climax.

"Enma-kun," an emotionless voice hissed from behind him while the rattling of the front doors quickly filled his ears before they closed with a loud slam. Jumping a little, the red head felt his eyes widen in fear and trepidation.

This was bad - he knew exactly who that was standing behind him and he knew that the person behind him was able to literally smell the fear radiating off of him. Like an animal, that's what the person was, an animal. An animalistic monster.

Footsteps echoed throughout the building as Enma heard the person behind him walk closer. You know that you sometimes get those unearthly feelings, when you can hear and feel someone walk up behind you - someone that's not all that far away, but it feels like it's taking forever for them to reach you? And every passing second that ticks by feels like sixty whole seconds instead? And the longer they took to reach you, the harder your heart slammed against its chest? That was how Enma felt right now, and there was no escaping from it.

"You got him into trouble, didn't you?" a calm, yet tedious voice, whispered suddenly against his ear. Shivering violently, Enma tightened his hands into fists and allowed his eyes to close, trying to ignore the other's breathing against his ear and focused on steadying his own increasingly rapid breathing.

"He was supposed to go home _normally_ today," the voiced now growled, the tone getting angrier.

"T-Tsunayoshi-sama…" Enma managed to stammer, a thick lump forming in his throat, finding it hard to speak or breathe properly.

"Giotto walked home alone today - do you know why that's bad, Enma-kun?" Tsunayoshi whispered in a seething tone, gripping Enma's right arm gently. Slowly moving the ice cold palm of his hand up Enma's arm, the grip on the boys arm began to tighten as the hand inched closer and closer up Enma's quivering arm. The sheer intensity of the moment was causing Enma to tremor in palpitation.

"I-I…!" Enma tried to say but was cut off when the others nails sunk into his fragile, pale white skin; causing the redhead to cry out in agony. The rip in his skin from the nails pulsated against Tsunayoshi's cold skin as he began to feel his arm ache as well as sting when Tsunayoshi dug his nails in deeper. His loud cry in discomfort was only making the other want to hurt him more.

As well as Tsunayoshi's nails resting a good inch or so beneath his skin, the other also gripped Enma's arm the best he could with the same hand, his grip bruising and agonizing to Enma's weakening arm. Tightening his grip, Tsunayoshi began to roughly twist Enma's shaking, pulsing arm right around until the red heads eyes widened in terror and fear of the bones inside his arm snapping or dislocating, screaming bloody murder as Tsunayoshi came practically a fraction away snapping and breaking each of the bones in his upper and lower arm in half.

"N-no! Stop it! It hurts! Let go! Please!" Enma cried as Tsunayoshi just stared at the other with a blank expression, his eyes cold and emotionless as he scanned Enma up and down - mentally scoffing at how weak and pitiful the boy before him was.

It was disgusting, disgusting of how _weak_ this human was. In some sense, it was beyond pitiful. What a pathetic excuse of a human - at least others he had attacked in the past and attempted to kill had the dignity to uphold their pride and not beg helplessly for mercy. Why? _Why_ did this boy beg for mercy! Why was he so easily manipulated with actions as well as his words! _Why_ did he fear pain!

"You…are weak, idiotic and pathetic. _What are you_!" Tsunayoshi screamed, yanking Enma's arm roughly upward, earning a ear piercing scream of pain followed by a loud crack of a bone. His face had become twisted with anger and, in a sense, confusion as he continued to yank furiously at Enma's arm, not caring for the others obvious trauma and pain.

"T-TSUNAYOSHI-SAMA! STOP! PLEASE!" Enma screamed, his arm throbbing with excruciating pain as he felt his broken bone dislocated from his shoulder from Tsunayoshi's rough jerks, tears beginning to coat his face as each and ever nerve in his body became drunk off the horrific pain enveloping his body. He was powerless, he couldn't fight back - all he could do was sit there, sob and scream all he wanted while bone after bone in his arm broke while the blood from where Tsunayoshi had torn his skin poured relentlessly down his arm.

"Say it…SAY IT! WHAT ARE YOU! ANSWER ME!" Tsunayoshi screamed, his loud voice bellowing over Enma's weak, powerless cries of mercy and pain.

"I-I'm a-a weak pathetic idiot! P-PLEASE! STOP! TSUNAYOSHI-SAMA IT HURTS!" Enma sobbed, his arm slowly becoming numb from the agonizing pain shooting through his entire arm, it pumping and pulsating with unbearable pain as Tsunayoshi continued to squeeze at the broken, exhausted arm - pulling and jerking it to his own demise. Like a child, throwing about an old toy, not caring about the damage he's making.

Pleased, but not satisfied enough, Tsunayoshi carelessly tossed Enma onto the floor, the red head landing on his broken, beaten arm with a loud crunch, wailing out helplessly in pain as the bones in his arm crunch from the weight of his body, his head hitting the hard floor also, sobbing harder as his head hit the cold, stone floor.

Shivering violently on the floor, Enma's body slowly began to retract in on itself and curl into a semi-ball, feeling physically sick and unbearably dizzy with fear and pain. A metal like substance began to fill his mouth as Tsunayoshi's echoing footsteps drew closer to his quivering body, his throat too dry and sore from screaming to swallow the salt like liquid. Instead, the liquid began to slowly make its way passed Enma's slightly parted lips and drip onto the floor, echoing along with Tsunayoshi's footsteps.

"…you're not worth the effort," Tsunayoshi hissed angrily.

Just as Tsunayoshi went to say something else, the doors to the room they were both in opened.

"…o-oh…g-gomenasai Tsunayoshi-sama f-for disturbing you a-and Kozato-kun…" Nagi's quiet, delicate voice whispered, her voice just about as shaky as Enma's trembling figure before her.

"Clean him up woman - get him out of my sight," Tsunayoshi hissed, turning on his heel and walking right passed Nagi and out of the door she opened, roughly barging his shoulder against the young girls own - earning an abrupt whimper from her.

Enma sighed in relief. Next time, however, he knew if he screwed up again, he wouldn't be getting out of this just as easily.

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"Surprised to see me Giotto?" the boy, Ieyatsu asked as he began to saunter over to Giotto, a sickeningly wide smirk plastered on his abnormally pale face. His golden eyes glittered in the dim sunlight while his expression remained unreadable, even to Giotto.

"Actually, I'm more revolted," Giotto replied, his voice expressionless, however the hate clouded in his sky blue eyes said it all for the other.

Ieyatsu tutted lightly, stopping a few feet away from Giotto, his hands behind his back and under his cape. The grin on his face slowly began to twist into a wider, more deformed sort of grin while his menacing golden eyes scanned Giotto's body slowly. His wet lips pursed his grin into a smirk ever so slowly as his eyes met with Giotto's again, taking one more step closer towards Giotto.

"You're alone," Ieyatsu stated rather than asked, eyes suddenly narrowing on Giotto's, "I was hoping your twin would be with you at least."

"As if," Giotto scoffed, folding his arms, "I hate him."

"Are you sure?" Ieyatsu challenged quickly after Giotto responded to his previous statement, "I only wanted to make sure he's alright - you know since there's people after him and all…"

Rolling his eyes, Giotto raised an eyebrow at Ieyatsu, "Stop acting like you're not the one behind this…"

"I'm not," Ieyatsu interrupted, stepping closer again to Giotto, "The Prince is missing and I'm just making sure that your twin is safe, since you've done nothing but a poor job at looking after him so far."

"Good for you…now get lost," Giotto said, spinning on his heel away from Ieyatsu.

The other quickly grabbed his arm, pulling him back to face him - golden eyes meeting with sky blue ones, glaring at Giotto, "I'm not the enemy."

"That's what they all say," Giotto spat, jerking his arm away before brushing down his clothes, "I'll ask you kindly once more, go aw-"

Lips pressed against Giotto's own in a feverish, yet light hearted kiss, stopping all and any sounds coming from his mouth entirely. Ieyatsu couldn't help but chuckle lightly at Giotto's shocked expression as he rested his hands on Giotto's shoulders, tilting his head and running his tongue across the others lower lip gently.

After a brief moment, Ieyatsu pulled away, his lips wetter than before and a satisfied grin on his face, eyes connecting instantly with Giotto's.

"Due to certain circumstances, it would…benefit you to remember what exactly I've kept from you."

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_Owari~ (of chapter)_

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**Yeah, yeah, it's a short chapter, but so what? It's short because the next chapter is a flashback chapter focused on that completely -sweat drop- don't tell me to make the chapters longer…I just don't get the same feel for this story like I used to…**

**Anyways, mainly graphic stuff in this chapter.**


	9. It's good news so read it I swear it

**Hi. How are you all. Miss me? No? Wanna kill me? Okay.**

**Here's the deal. **

**Go and look back at the first three chapters of these stories.**

**Soon, you'll have to reread all eight chapters of these stories. Why? Because they're edited, they flow better and some things have changed. Some extra informatio has been added to make it flow better too.**

**I have been sitting here for eight hours straight with no food, just ribena and have been rewriting every single chapter of this story because I _want _to finish it and if finishing it means I have to upgrade it from two years ago to how I write now then I'll do it. I'm not going to write chapter nine UNTIL I have done this and I'm not moving from this seat until I have done so.**

**Why? Because you all deserve _better _than having to wait for an update.**

**I've been trying to figure out why I fell out of love with this story and it's because I basically couldn't write for shit two years ago. I saw an AN where I said it was thirteen days to my _fifteenth _birthday indicating I was fucking fourteen years old. It's just gone past _three months_ of my _sixteenth_ birthday. It opened my eyes as to what I had to do. And I'm going to sit here and give this story a make over and the love and attention it deserves.**

**I am dedicated, yes, I am lazy too, but I retyped those chapters one after the other because I am determined to give you all something to read. I didn't take any rest breaks. As soon as chapter one was done, I got chapter 2 out and used it as a guideline for a redone chapter and I'm happy with the first three now. They have all at the very least doubled in size from how they previously were.**

**I'm going to finish this, and the moment I write up chapter 8 again, which will not take long since it's such a short chapter, I'm going to sit down and write you chapter nine and I'm going to post it the moment I've written it.**

**Again, I'm sorry this is taking so long to complete and you're all being so wonderfully patient. This is my way of saying to you I am determined and I'm going to sit here until chapter 9 is on .  
**


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